Bleached
by ChevalierAirumel
Summary: Rated T for violence and some scary stuff that comes later. Airi and Zezuri get kidnapped from their high school and taken to Hueco Mundo by Aizen's forces. The start of a LONG series. Sorry if the first chapter sounds really lame, it gets better.
1. Kidnapped

**Bleached: Ep. 1**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Kubo-sensei does and we're fine with that. All we own of this are two characters (Airi and Zezuri, otherwise known as us)_

_Yes, if you've been on deviantart, you may have seen this story before, that's because I put it up there first._

_A quick note before you read this: Yes, chapter one is INSANELY short. The other five million won't be. Promise._

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It had been a normal day at school. Student took tests, hall monitors screeched at the students for everything. Or, it was a normal day until soul society's most wanted walked through he front door. Wait… why were the three banished captains and their army of arrancar at a random high school?

"This will be the last place those ignorant shinigami will ever think to find us," commented Sosuke Aizen.

Suddenly a tone sounded and people filled the halls, ignorant of the crowd of people they were walking through. All except for two students who stood at the bottom of the staircase, staring up at the group.

"Am I seeing things or still sleeping?" asked one to the other.

"U-umm I-I'm not sure either… wait… who are they?" the girl with medium brown hair and a few of her bangs held back in a green clip. She had blue eyes and was on the shorter side.

"This place is to damn crowded! I'm gonna get run over here!!" an irritated blue haired arrancar shouted.

"What is with these tacky outfits anyways?" said a preppy looking arrancar, who looked quite feminine, even though it was a guy.

"Ulquiorra, why are they staring at us funny?" asked a larger, dark skinned arrancar, noticing the two girls at the bottom of the stairs.

"Because Ulquiorra looks like a friggin' ghost!" chuckled the blue haired arrancar.

Ulquiorra glared from the corner of his eyes. "At least my hair doesn't look like blue trash…" Ulquiorra commented back.

Grimmjow just looked away, growling since he couldn't think of another snappy comeback.

The preppy arrancar, Luppi, giggled at the bickering between them. Luppi then noticed the two girls gazing at them. "Heh, I know I'm beautiful but you don't have to stare, ladies," Luppi scoffed, blushing and waving his hand at them playfully.

"Who the heck are you talking to Luppi?" asked D-Roy, placing his hands behind his head with a sigh.

Luppi pointed at the two girls. "Them," he said plainly.

Both the girls jumped as they realized the arrancar had noticed them.

Gin began to walk over to them with that sly smile of his. "It's rude to stare ya know," he said in a smooth casual way.

Zezuri, the girl with the green clip shuddered as he gazed down at them with his squinty eyes. She looked at the other girl, wondering if she knew them.

The taller girl wasn't paying attention to her friend; she was staring, her green eyes wide with fear at the man casually striding down the stairs at them. Why doesn't anyone else see them? Who are they? What do they want? All of these thoughts flashed through her mind at once. Gin reached the bottom of the stairs. "Run!" a voice screamed inside each of the friends minds', but they were completely frozen in place but some unseen force.

"Let's see, who do we have here?" mused the silver-haired ex-captain slowly grabbing the tall blonde's ID tag, "Airi and," he snapped her tag and looked at the shorter brunette's ID "Zezuri". Gin looked up at Aizen and an unspoken agreement seemed to occur between them.

"What do you think, Ulquiorra?" Aizen asked the fourth espada.

Ulquiorra's piercing green eyes stared down at the two girls, who were now ten minutes late for class. "…They have potential…"

"Feh, worthless humans," muttered Grimmjow under his breath. "Bring them here, Gin," commanded Aizen.

"Eh…" Zezuri whimpered quickly, beginning to freak out because a bunch of guys were surrounding them.

"P-please, we need to get to class…"

"Gin's scaring poor girls again…" sighed Luppi. "Settle down." Aizen tried to calm them as they both followed Gin.

"Tousen, open the portal to Hueco Mundo," ordered Aizen. Tousen walked down the hall a bit and with a quick hand gesture, created a fissure in the fabric of space. The group walked down the hall toward the portal like they owned the place. Aizen was the first to enter, and was followed by Tousen, Luppi, D-Roy, and Ulquiorra. Seeing the girls' hesitation Grimmjow picked up Zezuri and Airi and jumped through.

**To be continued:**

So, what's everyone thinking? Any good? Want more? See an error? Have a question? Talk to us people! We don't bite!


	2. Welcome to Las Noches

**Bleached: Ep. 2**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are the only characters we made up ourselves._

_Note: Hey! Thanks for reading this! I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter more than the first! And, if the plural tense is annoying you, sorry. There are two authors of this story, we take turns writing it. _

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Zezuri whined as she tried to cover her face that was beet red and almost in tears

Zezuri whined as she tried to cover her face that was beet red and almost in tears. "I-I'm gonna scream…" she murmured in her hands.

"Don't you dare!" Grimmjow shot back.

A moment later they were all in Hueco Mundo. Zezuri passed out from the transfer of worlds and spiritual pressure.

Grimmjow sighed irritably. "It passed out, Aizen,"

"And the other?"

"Still conscious," Grimmjow dropped Airi roughly on the white sand of Hueco Mundo.

She groaned in pain and attempted to stand.

"C'mon, stand up," shouted the blue-haired arrancar. "We've got a long walk ahead of us."

Airi's head was swimming. Here, wherever that was, everyone's presence seemed greatly magnified and was bearing down heavily on her as if it were trying to suffocate her. She open her mouth as if to speak, but couldn't get enough air.

Grimmjow pulled her harshly to her feet, but she instantly fell back down.

"Tee hee," Luppi giggled, "You have a wet spot on your back, Grimmjow," he pointed out.

"Eh?" Grimmjow looked over his shoulder to see Zezuri had drooled on his jacket. "Disgusting!" He was about to toss her to the ground when Aizen stopped him,

"Let's get going, Grimmjow…" Aizen walked ahead as Grimmjow scowled and followed.

"Now, now, up ya go," Gin said helping Airi to her feet and lending an arm to help her walk.

"Was it eve necessary to bring all of us?" Tousen asked Aizen. Aizen sighed, "You and Gin were the only ones I needed, then Ulquiorra insisted he came, and so everyone else followed. It doesn't matter though, the mission was completed."

--

They finally reached Las Noches. Zezuri regained consciousness and gasped as they passed through a hall of giant hollows.

"You're awake…" muttered Grimmjow. He quickly put her down, as they continued to follow Aizen down the hallway.

Zezuri's eyes trembled at the sight of the enormous hollows around them; her whole body shook with fright.

"Poor thing, shaking like a twig in a hurricane," Luppi grinned.

Zezuri was too frightened to break into tears, so she followed them silently and glanced back at Airi, who had also become adjusted enough to the pressure to walk.

They wandered into a room and Tousen closed the door behind them. Aizen sat at the end of the table as the others sat in their respective places while Gin lead the two girls to some empty chairs at the end of the table by Aizen.

"Now, I won't take long, you both look like you need rest, so," Aizen folded his hands on the table. "You're probably wondering why we brought you here, no?"

Both of the girls nodded.

"Hmm… well you could see us, that gave me a hunch that you two must have some power." Aizen explained.

Zezuri just stared at the table, her arms held close to herself and her eyes distant.

"D-Roy, Luppi, show them to their rooms." Aizen motioned to them.

Luppi nudged Zezuri, but her eyes quickly filled up with tears as they streamed down her face. "I wanna go home…" she cried quietly.

"This is your home now," said D-Roy, "come on!"

But Zezuri didn't budge. Neither D-Roy nor Luppi were bold enough to pick the distraught girl up. Aizen glanced at Grimmjow.

"Me again?" he asked, then sighted and approached Zezuri. "Get up!" he shouted.

No response.

The blue haired arrancar hoisted her up into a fireman's lift. "I trust you're able to get up yourself?" he asked Airi.

She nodded meekly, clearly too terrified of everything to talk. Standing up she managed to stagger over to the doorway. Air glanced up at Zezuri to see how she was doing, but the brunette had passed out again and was drooling on the back of Grimmjow again. Suddenly Airi felt dizzy from the amount of power emanating from Grimmjow's lack of patience. Before Airi could even realize that she was falling, a hand reached out and caught her at her shoulder.

It was Luppi, "Now don't go fainting on us." He said with a strange and creepy smile as he steadied her on her feet.

--

The group walked through several gray stone hallways up and down tons of stairs and eventually one classroom sized room. "Sorry about the mess, and the missing door; we've been renovating since… well, for a really long time," Luppi said, "The bed on the right can be yours, Airi, was it, and Grimmjow, you can put Z, Zezuri in the left room. That is unless you'd rather carry her around all day."

Grimmjow took a swing at Luppi, but the shorter arrancar simply ducked out of the way. Grimmjow scowled, anger building up and causing his aura to swell up almost to being visible. However, Luppi and D-Roy were already walking back down the hallway leaving their fellow arrancar looking like a total idiot. He calmed down a bit and set the still unconscious Zezuri on the ledge that served for a bed, with as much care as a teenager take their backpack off after school. With that, he left without a word.

Airi watched him go in silence, wishing she had more courage to demand some answers, instead she felt weak, defenseless, lost and overwhelmed. Upon entering her room Airi noticed it was completely devoid of furniture, save for the two beds and a single mirror on the wall. Open archways serves as doorways to the hallway and what she assumed was a bathroom. A single window sat in an otherwise empty wall. There were no bars or glass on it, Airi walked over and looked outside. The endless white dunes stretched on forever and the black sky seemed just as endless. A crescent moon, in it's waning stages, hung in the sky. As Airi stared out, she let her mind wander, why did these people want her and Zezuri, special powers, whatever that meant, why did some of the people have holes in them and random bits of skulls on their heads? Airi fell asleep leaning on the windowsill and slid down to the floor.

**To be continued...**

Questions? Comments? We'd like to hear 'em!


	3. Answers?

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Bleached: Ep. 3

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, save for the laundry detergent variety. Zezuri and Airi are the only original characters we added._

_Note: Something tells me there might be a few errors in this one... if you see 'em shout out! -Airi_

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Zezuri awoke a while later, but she really couldn't tell the time in Hueco Mundo; it was always dark as she would soon discove

Zezuri awoke a while later, but she really couldn't tell the time in Hueco Mundo; it was always dark as she would soon discover. Her eyes still felt tired from crying in her sleep. She saw Airi asleep against the wall. Zezuri walked over to her. "Um… Airi…?" she gave her a small poke in the shoulder.

"Nngh" groaned Airi, coming to slowly. "Why do I feel like I fell asleep on a strange window sill?"

"Because you did."

Airi straightened up as the previous day's memories came flooding back to her.

"They said we had special powers because we could see them… I'm so scared… I want to go home… A-are they going to eat us?" Zezuri began to panic.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the doorway. Aizen entered without waiting for a response, accompanied by Gin and Tousen. "I see you're awake. Feeling better? We've brought you some tea." Aizen motioned Gin to bring the tray to them.

"Umm…" Zezuri looked confused and frightened again.

"Don't worry, we won't starve you and we won't ear you. Just because Grimmjow looks like he might doesn't mean we would do such a thing," Gin explained. Somehow the ex-captain's remark did little to help the two girl's feelings, in fact their presence was even worse than any of the others.

"W-what do you want from us?" stuttered Airi.

"So she has a voice after all," mused Gin.

Aizen turned and looked directly at Airi, who instantly shrank back in fear. "What do I want you two for?" he ran the question through his mind a few times. "I guess I do owe you an explanation of sorts, but now's not the time for that."

"What do you mean?" asked Airi, adding puzzled to her long list of current emotions.

Aizen did not respond to the question directly; "As I stated yesterday, you both have unusual powers-"

"What do you mean by unusual powers?!" Airi yelled against all caution.

"You'll understand later," Aizen never lost his calm during arguments. And with that, he, Gin, and Tousen left the room.

Zezuri realized how frustrated Airi was and handed her a cup of tea. "I-I don't know what powers we have o-or what they want with us… but… somehow, for some reason, we'll be okay… right?" Zezuri said, with uncertainty in her voice, trying hard to believe her own words for comfort as Airi took the tea and nodded, wanting to believe everything would be okay.

Just as they were going to drink the tea, Luppi and D-Roy walked through the door. "Hee hee, finally awake and talking?" questioned Luppi, giggling. Both of the girls jumped back, almost spilling the tea.

"Geez, quit being so jumpy. We won't hurt ya," said D-Roy.

"Much." Luppi added teasingly.

"Lord Aizen said for us to keep watch so you guys don't run away or anything," D-Roy went on.

"Do you know why we're even being held here?" asked Airi wanting answers.

"That's a secret!" Luppi teased again.

--

Several uneventful hours passed, Zezuri and Airi sat in silence, listing to Luppi's almost on-stop banter to D-Roy, who was looking like nothing would make him happier right then than some duct-tape to shut the babbling arrancar up. A random arrancar came along, passed him a note and left. "It seems I'm needed for something more important than guarding these humans," And with that he left Luppi as the only guard.

Luppi sighed, "Now all I have are two humans to talk to…" he remained silent for five or so minutes then started mumbling to himself. "Wonder what Aizen wants with these two…"

"So he doesn't know why we're here," whispered Airi to Zezuri.

"I don't think anyone does except for the leader and his upper flunkies." Zezuri whispered back.

"Do you think we could escape, there's only one guard?"

"U-umm…" Zezuri looked at Luppi trying not to make it look like they were talking about him. "We should make a break for it."

Airi looked around for an escape. Luppi spaced out as Airi and Zezuri were slowly creeping off the floor.

"Go!" Airi whispered quickly as they dashed for the door. "What the—" Luppi jumped up surprised as the two ran out of the room and down the hallway.

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**To be continued...**

Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to comment or ask questions. Be nice though... _some_ constructive criticism would be appreciated.


	4. Head for the Dunes!

**Bleached: Ep. 4**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our characters though._

_Note: Don't get used to a chapter a day... this is only happening until I've caught up to what I have typed already... but don't worry, the fact that this is written means writer's block won't have as big of an effect. -Airi_

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They ran until they came to separate hallways, and without time to stop and think, they ran down different hallways, splitting

They ran until they came to separate hallways, and without time to stop and think, they ran down different hallways, splitting up. "Ah! Now we're separated!" Airi thought. Airi was running down the right hall while Zezuri went left.

Zezuri kept running and passed Ulquiorra on the way, who just watched her pass and sighed, probably knowing that they would pull something like this. Ulquiorra pressed a button on the wall, sounding the alarm. The loud, screeching alarm, frightened Zezuri more, that she ran into a den of hollows. She stopped in her tracks, making herself trip. The hollows grouped around with a hungry appetite for a fresh soul. They lunged for her as she coiled herself on the ground.

There was a sudden blast of energy that engulfed the room in light. "Tch, you're more trouble than you're worth…" complained a voice in an irritated, harsh tone. Zezuri looked up through her hands at a large figure with blue hair. She was suddenly hoisted up by her shirt collar, as her face was quickly brought to his, "Stupid woman! You actually thought you'd escape?" he harshly dropped her and she fell on her bottom. "C'mon! Time to get back to your cell." He mumbled, walking ahead.

"Grimmjow!" one of the hollows that survived his blast, rose from the wreckage. "Espada or not, how dare you interrupt our feast!" the rouge hollow rushed at Grimmjow, but Grimmjow grabbed the hollow by the face and performed a cero at point-blank range, blasting the hollow so that nothing remained.

"Aizen's orders, can't eat the guest!" he shouted to the others, "Weak, weak, weak! C'mon stupid, let's go." With that he lead Zezuri from the room.

Meanwhile, Airi ran unhindered through the dark hallway. "Odd" she thought to herself, "no one's here". Suddenly a loud alarm echoed through the halls. Startled, she almost tripped, but managed to regain her balance and kept going. She continued running wondering why no one had managed to catch her yet and also if Zezuri had been caught. Suddenly, the hallway ended with a door. Hesitantly, she grasped the handle and opened the door, while glancing behind her at the same time. The hallway remained empty; no white uniformed figure was in sight. Turning back to the open door, Airi stepped outside into the endless night of Hueco Mundo and stared running. Just as it had appeared from her window, the white sand dunes seemed to go on for eternity. A series of thoughts stormed her mind, where was she going, what happened to Zezuri, and what should she do? Her feet kept her moving farther away from the gray castle/building/prison of two days. Part of her mind was screaming at her to go find Zezuri, wherever she might be, while another part was convinced this was all just a bad dream and she would wake up soon. By now the last of the castle was slipping over the horizon behind her. A white cloud loomed on top of a dune in front of Airi, moving fast and straight at her. "What is that?" she wondered aloud, stopping because she couldn't run anymore. Airi stood there panting, more physically exhausted than she'd ever been in her short 17-year life. As the cloud thing got closer, Airi came to the painful realization that it was a sandstorm and a really large one at that. Summoning up what little energy she had left, Airi ran back the way she had come, but the sandstorm was faster and overtook her in seconds. White sand flew everywhere, tearing clothing, skin and hair alike. This violent display of nature finally made Airi realize; this was no dream. This was reality.

Grimmjow dragged Zezuri back to her cell by the wrist. Emotionally in tears because she was scared, lost Airi, and her wrist hurt, she obediently followed Grimmjow. She wouldn't dare try to run again. He roughly pushed her back in her room. "And stay there!" he growled before walking away.

"You naughtily little girl." Luppi said, poking her on the head, "and your little friend is lost in the desert. Honestly, I don't know why Aizen-sama bothers with trouble-making humans like you." He scoffed, placing his hands on his hips and gazing out the window.

Somewhere on the other side of the sand dunes Zezuri was now looking at, Airi lay bleeding (not to death) from the many cuts on her face, hands, and wherever else the sand and wind had managed to penetrate. As she laid there, she hoped that there were no giant sandworms going to suddenly pop up and eat her like they did in that one book she had read for her English class, now what seemed like eons ago. Airi's thoughts drifted, as she looked up into the sky, unable to move from all that had happened. A white cloud flashed over, or so she thought, until her mind realized that one: it wasn't a cloud, two: It was the really tall minion of Aizen's with black hair and eyes greener than her own, and three: she had never been happier to see him.

"Get up, we're going back now." He said plainly. He looked at her again before crouching down and examining her condition a bit more. He dusted some of the sand from her hair and clothes and helped her to her feet. "Zezuri has already been confined. She did not get as far as you." Ulquiorra stated.  
"That's a relief…" Airi sighed.

"Come. I'm taking you back now." He began to walk ahead.

Airi looked around as if to say "Yeah, good riddance to this desert." But she just nodded and followed him.

Luppi looked back at Zezuri, the sighed in disappointment, confusing Zezuri so she tilted her head. "Honestly, those tacky human clothes make me sick. They smell like human and have human written everywhere, it's like having a total newb among veterans. I'm going to have to find you something more adaptable, then maybe I can stand the sight of you without burning my eyes." He said.

"There will be no need for such a search, Luppi," a voice came from the doorway. Both the feminine arrancar and Zezuri turned to see the figure was Aizen. "We have brought you some clothes." He handed Zezuri a neatly folded, personal arrancar uniform. "It should fit you." He said with a smile. For a moment as Zezuri obediently took the uniform, she saw a different Aizen, the same Aizen but with a kinder smile and calming eyes. She looked at him with awe as she stepped back, then Luppi nudged her into the bathroom to change.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading! If you see an error, have a question, or feel like it, leave a comment!


	5. Shocking

**Bleached: Ep. 5**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri, however, we do own, because they are us... kind of._

_Note: I don't think you'll see an update tomorrow, sorry._

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After Zezuri went to change, Luppi looked at the place she left then to Aizen

After Zezuri went to change, Luppi looked at the place she left then to Aizen. "Lord Aizen, what do you really need with these human females, anyway?"

"Not now Luppi, you'll see later." Aizen said as he silently left.

"Aww… I really want to know…" Luppi whined. Zezuri came out after a short while, dressed in the arrancar uniform. It was a dress instead of what the males usually wear. "Well that looks nicer." Luppi smiled. Then they both realized Ulquiorra was standing in the doorway, with Airi. "So you brought her back? She looks like she went and fell down a sand dune." Luppi scoffed.

"As you see it is futile to run when you have no where to go. "Ulquiorra ignored Luppi and looked at Airi, and then walked away.

"What a stiff…" Luppi said putting his chin in his hand as he sat again, bored.

"Airi?! What happened to you?" exclaimed Zezuri, staring at Airi's torn and battered clothes. "Wait, tell me after you put these on."

"Huh?" Airi examined what her friend had handed her.

"It's their uniform, probably just like the one I'm wearing, Aizen, that's the leader's name, dropped them off a little while ago."

Airi took the clothes to the other room and put them on. She emerged a few moments later, "Why a skirt?" she moaned, "I hate skirts!" Airi's outfit resembled Zezuri's in the basic concept, but minor details made it look quite different.

Zezuri looked at Airi and smirked, "Your hair is all static-y," she put a hand up to Airi's head as a bunch of the blonde's hair drifted up to it.

"Stop that!" said Airi attempting to smooth out her messy hair. "SNAP" Airi's hand brushed against her friend's.

"Oww, that hurt" Zezuri moaned, "What was that?"

Airi stared at her hand for a moment, touched the gray stone wall behind her, held up her hand and said "High five."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Alright…"

"Bzzap!"

"Gah!" Zezuri winced, as she was shocked again.

"That wasn't supposed to happen… I should have discharged when I touched the wall…" stated Airi, a bit concerned. The commotion had attracted Luppi's interest and he had changed his attention from staring at the opposite wall to the girls.

"Owie, you fried my hand!" Zezuri whined.

Luppi laughed into his sleeve. Then, again another figure stood in the doorway.

"It's time for dinner, unless you humans do not eat," Ulquiorra said. Both of the girls' stomachs growled.

"I wonder how disgustingly you human pigs eat?" Luppi skipped out of the room.

"You know, he's a lousy guard leaving us like that," stated Zezuri.

"Does it matter anymore, they know we've realized we've got nowhere to go, and I'd rather not go through another sandstorm," responded Airi as they walked to the dining hall.

The dining hall was enormous. The typical arched ceiling was much higher here than in the hallways. Upon entering Ulquiorra and Luppi guided them over to the end of the long table at which Aizen, Gin, Tosen, and some of the espada members were sitting around.  
"Hiya," Gin grinned as Zezuri sat next to him.

"I… um… h-hello…" Zezuri tried to reply. Food was set out in front of them and the others began eating. Zezuri poked at her food with a fork.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Aizen questioned before taking a sip of his tea.

"Umm… I'm not that hungry…" her stomach began to growl, but she started coughing to cover it up.

"Probably because this food sucks!" Grimmjow said without hesitation.

"I wonder if you can cook better?" Tousen said with an icy edge, implying that he did the cooking.

"We should put these ladies to use," said Gin, turning his head to Aizen.

"Hmm.." Aizen thought, "Yes, why don't you two prepare us something?" Before Zezuri or Airi could say anything, they were led to the kitchen.

"So, take any cooking clases?" Airi laughed nervously as they looked at the messy kitchen.

One hour later Airi and Zezuri returned with a platter full of slightly burned grilled-cheese sandwiches. "Uh… here…" softly murmured Airi, "It was the only thing I remembered how to make fast-enough." Grimmjow poked at his and muttered something under his breath. Everyone else silently ate the cheese and charcoal sandwiches. Aizen made a mental note that Tousen was the superior cook.

After dinner, Airi and Zezuri were led back to their rooms. This time, instead of Luppi, Grimmjow was left to guard the two girls. "What's with the change of guards?" whispered Zezuri to Airi.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's the one who suggested we cook," Airi whispered back. Airi wasn't sure of what to make of the strange, blue-haired man with the extra jaw and a large hole through him. Zezuri, however felt safer with Grimmjow guarding the room instead of the very feminine Luppi. "We still didn't get any answers," muttered Airi staring at the hole in Grimmjow's back wondering what it meant.

"Hmm…" Zezuri also examined Grimmjow's hole. Grimmjow sat with his back turned to them. Out of curiosity, Zezuri crept over to him and like a child, stuck her hand through his hole to see if it came out the other side. Grimmjow, who was lost in thought, noticed a small hand coming out the other side of his stomach and Zezuri peering over his shoulder to look. He slowly turned his head with a look of concern and great irritation and looked the girl straight in the eyes. "S-sorry!" Zezuri jumped back. Grimmjow ignored this and went back to staring at the wall, slowly falling asleep out of boredom.

"What happened?" Airi leaned over to Zezuri.

"My hand does come through the other side!" Zezuri exclaimed, looking at her hand. Zezuri suddenly felt that she should apologize for supper, since she knew she could do better. "Umm… Mister…" she asked, but Grimmjow just grunted in response without turning his head. "I'll do better next time! For dinner… I promise!"

"Whatever…" Grimmjow was hardly awake at this point.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading! Comments and questions as well as reviews are good! So leave one, please?


	6. Destroy or be Destroyed

**Bleached: Ep. 6**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our characters._

_Note: Now that I'm out of school for the moment, I'm going to hopefully be able to get more of this up. Two chapters sound good today? _

_And another quick thing to WriterofAwe, you did call something that's about to happen! -Airi_

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The next day, Zezuri opened her eyes to see Gin looking down at her with that insane smile of his, "Wakey, wakey," he said che

The next day, Zezuri opened her eyes to see Gin looking down at her with that insane smile of his, "Wakey, wakey," he said cheerfully.

"Uh…" Zezuri quickly sat up, only to be handed a broom. She looked at the cleaning device in her hand, confused.

"You both have cleaning duty today," he explained.

"What the heck is with these people?" yelled Airi, reaching her limits; she'd been sweeping sand out a door for three hours without an explanation. "Surely they didn't kidnap us just to do this stuff!" The air around her began to crackle with static electricity.

Zezuri sighed, she was just as upset, but mostly still groggy. "Wonder where Grimm is?"

"Like I would know, how about we add that to our list of unanswered questions?!"

"Oh… right…" Zezuri began to help sweep the floor; she'd actually just gotten to where Airi was.

Airi noticed a list in the pile of white sand she was sweeping up.

"Don't tell me it's a list of chores now?!" complained Zezuri as she rested her chin on the top of the broom.  
"No," said Airi picking up the paper, "It's a list of 'Espada', whatever that means."

"Really?" she asked, looking over Airi's shoulder, "What do we need this for?"

"I think someone just forgot it… hey, isn't that blue-haired guy's name Grimmjow?" Airi asked pointing at the sixth name on the list.

"Yeah, it is," Zezuri said, "And that Ul-Ulq… quesadilla guy is number four!"

"What do the numbers mean though…"

"Maybe it's whose rooms we clean…?" Zezuri mentioned, hoping it wasn't; she hated cleaning.

"It's not that kind of list, plus, there are no rooms listed."

"Hmmm, true…" Yet again another figure was in the doorway.

"Breakfast, punks." It was Grimmjow, who just walked away after he warned them of breakfast.

"Punks?!" exclaimed Airi in a very foul mood because of her lack of answers and having to do household chores.

"Calm down, Airi," Zezuri put a hand on Airi's shoulder, "Oww!" She quickly withdrew her hand. "You shocked me again."

"That's so weird! Why does that keep happening?" "Maybe we can get some answers at breakfast," suggested Zezuri.

Breakfast was waffles, and once again Airi and Zezuri sat that the table with Aizen, Gin, Tousen, and some of the espada members. Zezuri looked at her waffles that seemed very appetizing. "Ok, we need some answers." Airi got quickly to the subject.

Aizen didn't show any difference in emotion, "It seems one of you has already noticed the beginning of your true potential… the other…" he looked at Zezuri with disappointment in his voice, as she looked down at her waffles as if she had done something wrong.

"She didn't do anything wrong, it's not like we were asked to be brought here to be lab rats!" Airi protested.

Zezuri smiled a little at Airi as if to say thank you.

"Maybe the other won't be of any use to us as we thought. Should we feed her to the hollows?" Gin smiled.

Zezuri's eyes widened and shook with fright as she dropped her fork.

"Wait, what? When did we decide on this?!" Grimmjow shot back.

"I was only kidding, no need to get all worked up over a human, now." Gin chuckled. "

Come now, things like this take time and time we'll give her," said Aizen calmingly. He turned to Airi, the air around her still crackling due to her anger at the rude way in which her captors were treating her and Zezuri. "I think this one is ready for some training. Tousen, you can handle that."

"Yes, Aizen-sama," replied the blind-but-not shinigami.

After finishing breakfast, the ex-ninth captain led Airi to a large empty room. A large creature with a skull mask on its face and a hole through its chest immediately charged at them upon entry. Tosen blocked its charge effortlessly. "This is a hollow, a creature that feeds upon human souls, you can destroy them by slicing through their heads." He backed off a little and flash-stepped to the other side of the room leaving Airi defenseless. "Defeat it," commanded Tousen.

"But, how?" yelled Airi as she ran from the pursuing creature, "I can't fight!"

Tousen stood in the corner motionless, as if he'd rather have the hollow eat the girl than carry out Aizen's orders.

Airi continued to run, but luck didn't seem to be with her at the moment and she tripped and fell forwards to the ground. In the few moment it took her to scramble back to her feet, the hollow had caught up to her and was looming over her. Without warning it swung a massive arm at its small prey sending it flying across the room. Airi hit the floor again, harder this time. Staggering to her feet she was amazed to discover nothing felt broken, just very heavily bruised. The hollow charged again as Airi panicked she knew there was no way she's get away unscathed or perhaps alive if she took this blow. The hollow as preparing a finishing blow, its prey was cornered, wounded, and completely defenseless.

Meanwhile, Zezuri was escorted back to her room by Grimmjow again. Zezuri just sat on her bed quietly as Grimmjow sat in the doorway. Suddenly there was a loud, echoing howl from inside that made Zezuri jump. "Sounds like the hollows found a lost soul…" Grimmjow mumbled, looking down the hallway with curiosity.

The first thing that popped in Zezuri's head was Airi. Zezuri began to break down in tears.

"What now?!" Grimmjow asked, irritated. "You… You… you fed her to those monsters! Didn't you?!" she cried.

"If she lost, yeah, they ate her, put if she's any good with her power, that won't happen."

Everything was silent for a moment as the hollows' moans died down.

"A-are they going to eat me too?" Zezuri asked trying to hold back her tears.

Grimmjow sat there quietly with no answer.

"I just… want Airi back safely… so we can go home… together…"

The hollow swung again. Airi, knowing she couldn't dodge, threw her arms in front of her face.

"Zap-thud."

Airi withstood the impact. Stunned, she looked up to see what had saved her. In her left hand she was holding a blurry, glowing, yellow, sword. Instinct took over as the hollow charged yet again. Grabbing the sword in both hands she jumped higher into the air than she though possible and cleaved the monster clean in two. It disintegrated with a might howl in shock of how the prey had suddenly turned deadly. Airi, too, was in shock. "Where did this come from?" she muttered to herself staring that the sword, it was still glowing bright yellow.

"So you have power after all," said Tousen, walking over from his observation point.

Reality once again hit Airi, as she rembered where she was and now she was pretty sure why she was here. Aizen needed more power, power to fight something stronger, but what/ She had seen that everyone in this polace carried a sword, all except for the hollows, but they didn't seem to be as powerful as the sword-weilders. As these thoughts assaulted her mind, she looked down at the sword in her hand, it wasn't glowing anymore and looked like a regular one. A wave of fatigue washed over her and forced her to sink down to her knees. She carefully placed her sword across her lap and then realized there was a scabbard lying on the floor next to her. With some interest she picked it up and found herself putting her sword in it. It was a perfect fit. Smiling, for some reason the sword's fit made her pleased, Airi passed out on the floor.

Tousen left the room silently.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading!! We like comments, reviews and all that jazz!!


	7. Enter the Scientist

**Bleached: Ep. 7**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach... nope... still don't. Airi and Zezuri on the other hand, we do._

_Note: I've got 12 chapters in the document files now! Yay!! I don't think I'll put them up all at once, but you don't have to worry about us getting writer's block. -Airi_

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When Airi woke up, she was back in her room

When Airi woke up, she was back in her room. Zezuri was next to her bedside and quickly hugged Airi when she sat up. "Thanks goodness you're safe," Zezuri said about to go into tears again.

"Would you stop crying at every little thing!?" Grimmjow complained. A pillow suddenly whizzed at his head and bounced off his head onto the floor. Surprisingly it had been shy Zezuri who had chucked the pillow, having enough of Grimmjow complaining about every little thing. "You—stupid woman!" Grimmjow was about to throw the pillow at Zezuri but as he reached for it Aizen stood in the doorway.

"That little test went well, you took out that hollow surprisingly quick," he said to Airi.

She met his dark smile with an icy glare, but then looked away. Her mind was quickly figuring things out that she wished would remain unknown. Airi looked up again with much fear in her eyes, she now realized why Aizen was the leader; power surged from him in huge waves.

"I see you're learning things faster that I predicted," stated Aizen with some interest. He turned to the sixth espada, "Grimmjow, has the other shown any signs yet?"

"No, all the whiny human does is cry and throws pillows."

"I see, how disappointing." With that Aizen left the room and Grimmjow resumed his post sitting in the doorway.

Zezuri burst into a torrent of questions at Airi, "What happened to you, where'd the sword come from…"

Airi straightened herself up and told Zezuri everything from the hollow to the sword. "That reminds me, I remember passing out in that room," said Airi, "How did I get in here?"

"Umm, that Ulquiorra guy brought you back. But… do you think they're going to do the same thing to me? Because that Aizen guy seems really unhappy with me… I-I don't think I have any special powers… I-I'm just useless... I don't want to get fed to those monsters!" Zezuri placed her hands over her eyes as she trembled.

"Don't worry about it now…" Airi placed a hand on Zezuri's head, trying to comfort her. "I have an idea of what they're up to…"

"W-what?" Zezuri asked confused, and chocking back her tears.

"I'll tell you some other time when I'm more sure," Airi leaned in closer to whisper so Grimmjow wouldn't hear their conversation.

Later as the two sat around bored, Zezuri's mind was spiraling with every single thought. Maybe I should start working harder… or practice on unlocking my power, she thought. She hated feeling useless besides the fact she was kidnapped and she was certain that she did not want to be eaten.

Airi sat on the floor examining her sword, pondering lots of things, like if anyone was looking for them, if it was possible for a rescue and if they ever got back would they be able to catch up on all the missed work… come to think of it, Airi had a calculus test three days after the day they'd been kidnapped… "Agh!" yelled Airi suddenly.

"What?!" yelled Zezuri and Grimmjow in unison.

"I've missed my calculus test!" Airi wailed.

"What's calculus?" Grimmjow scratched his head and then thought it was a stupid question and shrugged it off.

Zezuri gasped suddenly. "My Mom! She was picking me up after school!" She realized then put her hands in her face and groaned.

At that moment Ulquiorra and another white uniformed man entered the room. "Do not waste your time worrying about such insignificant things, if anyone managed to come here they'd be killed."

Zezuri and Airi stared, shocked at the 'emo'-spada's bluntness.

"Ulquiorra, Syazel, why are you here?" asked Grimmjow. Syazel, the 'newcomer' had pink hair, yellow eyes, wore thin rectangular glasses, and was slightly shorted than Ulquiorra.

The fourth espada spoke; "Aizen-sama's order," he stated and walked further into the room.

"Why's the mad scientist here?" asked Grimmjow again, getting irritated.

"Aizen-sama's orders," repeated Ulquiorra.

The pink haired arrancar looked at Zezuri. "This is the one I'm taking, right?" he asked Ulquiorra.

"She's yours to find out if she has abilities…" Ulquiorra nodded.

Syazel walked over to Zezuri and held out a hand her up, but Zezuri refused to take it out of confusion. She was pretty sure that being taken by a "mad scientist" was not a good thing. "Come, now, I do not have time for your hesitation," Syazel spoke and forcefully pulled her up by her arm.

"Syazel, remember, you must leave the girl alive and in one piece," stated Ulquiorra.

The pink-haired espada gave Ulquiorra a quick glance, "I'm not about to disobey a direct order from Aizen-sama," Syazel started to lead the terrified Zezuri from the room.

"Airi…" she whispered to her friend for help.

The blonde stood up and looked from her helpless friend to each of the three espada and then back to her friend. A red beam of light whooshed very close to her head, singeing the outer-most layer of her hair.

"Don't even begin to think about that," said the blue-haired espada; the owner of the cero blast, "You can't take the three of us, let alone one." Airi sank back to the floor in total defeat as Syazel took Zezuri out of the room and down the hall.

Zezuri felt a little more relived knowing he couldn't kill her or… then the thought of what Ulquiorra said about keeping her in one piece made her worry again.

They came to an empty room where only a lone chair sat. "Sit," ordered Syazel as he silently walked across the room. Zezuri obeyed and quickly sat. Syazel looked at her for a long time, before coming closer and looking her in the eyes. "Hmm… you have lots of power, but it's tightly locked up. I don't think near-death situations will work on you… but I have just the serum to force spiritual energy from you…" he tightened his gloves and pulled out a needle from his uniform. Zezuri stared terrified, at the needle. He took her by the hair and stuck the needle in her neck. "Now, we will be doing this daily," Syazel instructed, ignoring Zezuri's shrieking and sobbing.

Meanwhile, Airi sat still feeling insanely defeated. How are they so powerful? She wondered inside her head. What are they doing to Zezuri? Is she okay?

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading, again. Sorry about the crappy ending. I couldn't find a better spot to put a chapter break in... Review/comment please!


	8. Delirium

**Bleached: Ep. 8**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our characters._

_Note: I said two chapters, but here I am posting a third in one day! Lucky you! _

_Instead of being like all the other girls, I'm going to type up an RP instead of getting ready for prom. Go me! -Airi_

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Zezuri showed up a half an hour later, eyes very puffy and a pink band-aid on her neck

Zezuri showed up a half an hour later, eyes very puffy and a pink band-aid on her neck. "See you tomorrow morning." Syazel said before leaving.

The room around Zezuri seemed to spin, and she noticed how everyone emitted a strange blue hue. Was it that spirit energy Syazel had mentioned? She staggered across the room, accidentally bumping into Grimmjow.

"Hey, watch it!" he shouted. Zezuri staggered even more, the room swimming in front of her eyes. Suddenly she passed out. With lightning-fast reflexes, Grimmjow caught the girl before she hit the floor. Zezuri hung there, slumped in his arms. He noticed the pink band-aid on her neck as he carried her to her bed. Out of curiosity he lifted the bandage a little and grew a concerned look on his face as he noticed the needle mark.

"What did they do to her?" Asked Airi rushing over. She winced when she saw the puncture wound.

Zezuri opened her eyes a little.

"Zezuri," began Airi who was cut off by her friend.

"Why is the room spinning?" she asked with much delirium.

"The room's clearly not moving," said Grimmjow, "Stupid human."

"That's not normal behavior," stated Airi, "What did they do to her?" she asked again.

"Like I would know. Syzel's always doing stuff like this."

"I hope it's only temporary."

Grimmjow didn't say anything more and set the delirious Zezuri on her bed. After a few more minutes of incoherent babbling she drifted off to sleep.

Airi felt more alone now than she had since the sandstorm incident, here she was, in some strange fortress-castle in the middle of a desert that never saw the light of day, surrounded by strange people dressed in white and some of them had holes through them. What should we do? She wondered inside her head. She didn't have long to ponder before Ulquiorra entered the room again, to announce dinner. So, Airi, accompanied by the two espada, headed for the dinning hall, leaving Zezuri guarded by some minor arrancar.

At dinner Airi glared at a certain pink haired espada from across the table. Syazel was busy discussing with Aizen about Zezuri's relation to the serum he gave to her, before noticing Airi's glare. He smirked slightly. "Don't worry, her blood should adapt to the serum in time," he said to Aizen, but clear enough for Airi to hear.

Meanwhile, Zezui awoke and noticed the others were gone. She looked at the guard who just ignored her. She sat on her bed and stared at the floor, her mind still trying to regain consciousness. She thought about the torture she would have to endure, maybe for the rest of her life, and who knew what they had in store next for Airi. Zezuri's anger rose, but then she was surprised by a tickling sensation in her left hand. She looked at it and noticed it was glowing with blue spiritual power. She shook her hand around as if to shake the glow away. A sudden beam of light shot from her hand and bounced off the floor and then the wall. She was quite startled but remained silent as the guard turned to see what the noise was from. Zezuri made herself look occupied with something else to make it look like she didn't notice anything, so the guard went back to the hallway. Zezuri looked at her hand again and the glow was gone. She wasn't sure if she should tell anyone because she wasn't even sure what it was.

About a half an hour later, Airi returned accompanied by Luppi this time. The other guard left upon their entry. "Zezuri!" called Airi, seeing her friend sitting up and looking a little less confused. "What did they do to you? That Syzel guy was discussing something at dinner with Aizen, but I couldn't hear much of it. More importantly, are you okay?"

"Umm, yeah, I'm fine now… but…" she touched the puncture mark on her neck, "all I remember is a stinging pain in my neck…" she explained.

"Heh, you pathetic human, can't take Syazel's serum?" mused the annoying arrancar.

Zezuri tried to ignore him, "I-I don't know what it did to me, but, it's fading away…"

"At this rate, you'll die in a few doses of it," the gender confused arrancar continued.

Zezuri stared at him shocked at what he had just said.

Grimmjow was walking by at the time and leaned on the doorway.

"What are you doing here, Grimmjow?" asked Luppi. "

"None of your business!" Grimmjow shot back.

"Worried?" Luppi teased, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Tch. No," Grimmjow shrugged him off and left, his hands in his pockets.

The next day's breakfast, like usual, was held in the large dining room. Airi and Zezuri picked miserably at their pancakes, neither one felt like eating. Both were still thinking about what Luppi had said the night before about the serum.

Immediately after breakfast, Syazel lead Zezuri back to his lab. Airi was put back in her room/prison cell. It was near impossible to tell how much time had passed, since Hueco Mundo was stuck in perpetual night and Airi had forgotten her watch on the counter at home before school that day. In what could have been minutes or hours later, footsteps were heard in the hall.

The current guard, D-Roy, looked up from his nap to see if it was a change of guards.

Airi listened intently, trying to figure out if it was Syzel returning Zezuri. But, it wasn't and Ulquiorra entered the room instead.

Back at the lab, Syazel had finished injecting Zezuri with another dose of the serum. He walked over and tossed out the needle as Zezuri fell on the ground but was not unconscious. "Hmmm… maybe she can't handle it as I thought… if she's this useless then we'd be wasting the serum on her," Syazel muttered to himself. He walked back over to her and nudged her head with his foot as she tried to look up at him. Her eyes were soaked with tears and distant at the same time. She felt so sick but couldn't vomit anything up and just passed out. Syazel frowned with disappointment and left.

"Come," ordered Ulquiorra, "Aizen-sama has ordered that you are to train now," Airi followed him wordlessly out of the room. "D-Roy," the fourth espada spoke again, "Go and retrieve the other human from Syazel's lab."

D-Roy grimaced, but headed for the lab without further protest.

After a few minutes of walking through the gray hallways they reached the same room Airi had fought the hollow in. Ulquiorra opened the door and stepped aside, making it clear to Airi that she was to enter. Awaiting her inside the room were a dozen hollows. "You are to defeat every last one," ordered the tall arrancar, shutting the door and leaving Airi in the room full of hollows. Without even a moment to think, the hollows charged at her at once. Remembering last time, Airi drew her sword; its blade a blurry yellow shape once more.

"I can't believe I'm being forced to do all this grunt-work," moaned D-Roy, entering Syazel's lab. Looking around, D-Roy searched for Zezuri.

"If you're looking for the human girl, Grimmjow already is taking her back to her cell," Syazel appeared from another part of the lab. "Honestly, I don't understand Aizen-sama's confidence in that human, she passes out from the most diluted serums I have. She's not even of much value as a research specimen either," The eighth espada paused and adjusted his glasses. "I wonder if Aizen-sama will let me run some tests on the other human, I've heard she's got some unusual powers…" Syazel continued talking while D-Roy left the room silently, clearly bored with this conversation.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks (for the 8th time) for reading!! Comments and stuff please!!


	9. Falling Through the Sand

**Bleached: Ep. 9**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our characters._

_Warning: This chapter contains a filler character! I didn't know he was filler when I added him in (back in March), but he's just too cool to be filler! Sorry if it bugs anyone. I assure you he's the only filler chacter we're adding. -Airi_

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Zezuri regained consciousness once again and found herself being carried back to her cell by Grimmjow

Zezuri regained consciousness once again and found herself being carried back to her cell by Grimmjow. He was so much warmer than the cold lab floor. "Am I going to die?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," Grimmjow responded.

"Is Airi okay?" she asked again.

"I don't know," he said more sternly.

Zezuri just sighed sadly; she couldn't cry at the moment; she was out of tears and tired. Grimmjow stared at the needle marks on her neck, but Zezuri moved her hand over it as she looked away in embarrassment.

--

Airi swung at another hollow, cleaving its head in two. As the last one fell she collapsed to her knees, blood and bruises were all over her. She wiped some blood from her mouth as she dropped her sword.

"Finished? I didn't know such trash could take on all of these hollows at once." Ulquiorra commented as he returned.

Moments later, Ulquiorra entered the cell with a beaten up Airi following behind. Zezuri was sleeping again and Grimmjow guarded the doorway. Ulquiorra walked to Zezuri's bedside, and tore her from her bed by her arm. Zezuri hit the ground stunned. "Get up, Aizen-sama has decided that we don't need useless trash like you," he said with much authority.

Zezuri was confused but had a brief idea of what was happening. She quivered in the fourth espada's shadow as he stalked in closer.

"What are you doing?!" Airi asked, starting to get angry.

Ulquiorra glared into Airi's eyes, making her collapse.

Zezuri looked at Airi, then Grimmjow, then back to Ulquiorra, as she began to back up against the bed.

"You're not even enough to be a hollow's appetizer," commented Ulquiorra, as he stared down at her.

Zezuri's mind screamed at her to run, but she was frozen in terror, and she knew it would be futile to run; they'd catch her anyway.

The fourth espada dragged Zezuri from the room. Grimmjow watched them pass, his thoughts full of confusion.

"Help…?" asked Zezuri quietly as she was dragged by, but the blue-haired espada wasn't about to betray his comrade. Zezuri was dragged down many long hallways until finally they reached a door.

Ulquiorra opened it and shoved the girl through, shutting it behind her.

Still slightly delirious from the serum, Zezuri staggered, but managed to stand, swaying slightly. She looked down, sand, white sand, Zezuri moved her gaze upwards, more white sand, forming endless dunes disappearing into the horizon of the ceaselessly black sky. This was the first time Zezuri could remember being outside in this foreign place. Remembering what Airi had said about the sandstorms, Zezuri looked around her, making sure no storms were about. Staggering, the girl moved away from Las Noches, wondering where she was going, let alone her plans fro how to survive. How ironic, she thought, free, but with nowhere to go, so in reality, I guess I'm still trapped. Zezuri began to walk the dunes, her feet dragging and mind full of thoughts. With no destination, no hope of getting home, and just being alone, made her feel like giving up. Maybe she was worthless, she thought, now that the only thing she was worth was hollow fodder. She wasn't about to break down and cry, her mind was comforted by the fact that it wouldn't be too long before she'd be eaten and released of this torment. But what about Airi? What were they going to do with her? Her pondering was cut short, however, when the sand below her caved in. "What? I'm falling?" her mind still groggy. "AHHHHHHHH!!" she screamed.

Suddenly Zezuri felt someone grab her.

"Huh?"

"Shh… quiet, we don't want the menos to hear us."

Zezuri nodded, thankful to be saved.

A few minutes later, they entered a cave and Zezuri's rescuer set her down carefully on the floor and backed away. Standing before her was some bizarre creature; it stood on two legs and wore a tattered black outfit with a furry cloak that had masks sewn on it. Over its face was a skull of a horned creature. The overall effect of the outfit was terrifying; Zezuri stared at her rescuer with a mixture of awe and fear. Seeing this, the creature removed his mask and cloak with much care and set it on the floor. "Tell me, what is a human doing dressed as you are in the menos' forest."

"W-who are you?" asked Zezuri, quite scared. The man looked human, there was no hole visible on him, and his tattered outfit was like the arrancars', but black instead of white. He had auburn hair and green-brown eyes, all which looked normal.

"My name… is Aishda, I'm a shinigami, and I… live here," he indicated the surroundings, "Why are you?"

"I'm Z-zezuri, a human, and…" her voice trailed off as another wave of sickness overtook her and she passed out. Aishda picked up his cloak, draped it over the unconscious girl and sat down beside her.

--

Airi awoke, still on the floor. She lifted her head and gazed around the room, but strangely, no one was around. She was still cut and bruised from her battle, which triggered the awful memory of Zezuri being cornered by Ulquiorra. She looked up at Zezuri's bed… but it was empty. Tears began to well up in her eyes; suddenly a figure was standing in the doorway.

--

Zezuri's eyes fluttered open as she noticed the cloak covering her and the mysterious man, Aishda, sitting next to a fire he had made. Drawn to the warmth, she sat up and moved next to the fire. "You're awake." Aishda said, noticing her. Zezuri looked at him, then gazed around the cave.

"You live here?" she asked.

He nodded. He didn't seem dangerous, but even if he did rescue her, she still didn't trust him. Her trust was shattered. Even though she'd been saved by him before, the blue-haired espada had done nothing to help her from being dragged away. As she gazed into the fire she wondered how Airi was doing. "Here, you look unwell, try eating something," Aishda hankered her some meat.

Zezuri was a little surprised by his kindness, but it didn't take her long to take the meat, for she hadn't eaten in a while.

--

Airi paused as she noticed the figure, who happened to be Syazel, standing in the doorway. "Such a pity, they threw that other girl out," he remarked upon entry.

"She's alive?!" demanded Airi.

"Maybe, we lost track of her when she fell into the Menos' Forest, her chance for survival is slim to none," Syazel walked further into the room. "Hmmm…" he said walking circles around Airi, who stood frozen to the spot. A few seconds later he stopped, walked over to the doorway, "Well, see you later!" he stated and walked out of the room with a wave. Fear and relief surged through Airi's mind, Zezuri could still be alive, but for how much longer? And what exactly did Syazel mean by 'See you later?' That comment and his "observations" disturbed her greatly.

--

After eating whatever it was (hollow meat?!) Aishda asked Zezuri once again for her story. "My friend and I were kidnapped by Aizen and his followers and taken to their palace."

"Aizen?" he asked surprised.

"Umm yes… My friend and I were taken to their castle and they kept us there, saying we had special powers, but… I was no use to them… I don't have any special power at all…" she said, completely forgetting the time her hand had glowed and shot off the beam of light.

--

With no guard, Airi wandered into the hallway, thinking of what to do. Should she make a run for it? After all, she'd escaped before. Then again, look what happened that time, she thought. I got hit by a sandstorm and then Ulquiorra found me…

--

"Going somewhere?" A voice from behind made Airi whirl around suddenly to see the black haired and green-eyed espada silently approaching her from behind. "There's nowhere for you to go and nothing for you to do except follow Aizen-sama's plans."

Airi glared at him fiercely.

"Aizen-sama has given Syazel permission to run some tests on you, but he is not to kill you or do irreversible damage. Now, come with me, human."

**To Be Continued...**

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Thanks for reading! Comments, reviews, anything?


	10. Healing and Sparks

**Bleached: Ep. 10**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our charcters._

_Note: Updates might be a little on the slow side for a few days; I need to type up more. -Airi_

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Zezuri kept wondering how Airi was doing. She let out a long sigh.

"So what happened to your friend?" Aishda asked.

"Well… they decided to keep her… so… I don't really know…" responded Zezuri, looking down at the ground.

"I take it both of you weren't treated very nicely…" Aishda said; he'd seen the needle marks on her neck and by the look in her eyes when she saw him staring, it brought her much pain. "Do you mind if I ask you how you got those marks on you neck?" asked Aishda.

Zezuri put a hand up to her neck, "One of the flunkies, Syazel, I think that was his name, had been injecting something into me…"

"Hmm… that would explain your odd passing out spell."

"Do you know what it was? I heard a few of them say I would die if I got anymore doses."

"No, I'm afraid I don't… So they tossed you out?" Zezuri nodded.

"That seems odd… I would have thought they would have just fed you to the hollows in there." Aishda sat in deep thought for a while, he came to a sudden conclusion, but remained silent.

"What?" asked Zezuri, seeing the look on his face change.

"It's nothing, don't worry, you're safe for the moment." Aishda stared into the fire in deep thought once more. Something wasn't entirely right with the girl's story, but he was very sure she wasn't lying, but still, her terms of release didn't add up. The espada would be back for her, as soon as whatever they wanted happened… that wouldn't be for awhile he concluded, otherwise they would have just kept her with in their clutches. Perhaps they wanted her to think she was safer with them by dumping her outside…that didn't seem right… the shinigami's thoughts continued through the endless possibilities, never fully convincing himself of just one. Aishda stood. "I'm going to get more kindling."

"Can I come with you?" Zezuri asked. It would be unsafe to leave her by herself.

"Alright, just stay close," warned Aishda. They wandered outside into the dark Menos Forest. The tall, gray, stone trees towered overhead. As they walked along there was slight rumble and some of the bare stone branches came crashing down towards them. "Move!" Aishda shoved Zezuri out of harm's way, but a branch fell and scarped the whole side of his leg. "Ahh!" Aishda shouted in pain. Zezuri rushed to him.

I wish there was something I could do, Zezuri thought, worried. She uncovered his leg and put her hand on the wound to try to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, her hand began to glow blue again and Aishda's wound began to disappear. Aishda stared amazed.

Unbelievable, she truly does have power, Aishda thought. Zezuri was also amazed. I remember now, I was shooting off beams of light before, but just now I healed him, she thought.

--

"So it worked after all," commented Gin staring at the computer screens in front of him. On one monitor a blue light flashed softly and then faded out. "In the Menos Forest still, but it seems as if she's discovered her powers."

"What, you mean she wasn't useless after all?" exclaimed the arrancar standing in the back of the small room, "Does that mean we're bringing her back?"

"You sound thrilled, Luppi," replied the former third captain, his words dripping with sarcasm, "Don't worry, we need her to develop it more, so it'll be a few more days."

Luppi moaned.

--

Back at Aishda's cave, Zezuri and Aishda set the kindling in a pile. "So strong," Zezuri looked at her hands, "But I can only do it when I need to… I can't release anything when I want to… hey, Aishda, do you think you could help me?" she asked.

"I'm just as surprised and confused as you are, but I'll try…" They both sat down around the fire, Aishda had Zezuri facing him. "Try and put all of your being and energy into it… try and think of a moment you would really need this…" Aishda did the best he could to give suggestions.

Zezuri closed her eyes. She began to think about all the stuff she'd been through, or about how she and Airi were treated. She thought about Grimmjow and how she so easily trusted him. Zezuri's face turned slightly red with anger. Then her hand began to glow again.

"I think you're getting the hang of it…" Aishda commented as Zezuri opened her eyes.

Zezuri stood and faced the opening of the cave, then thrusted her hand towards it, sending a beam of light out of the cave. Then she imagined Ulquiorra standing there and here hate grew until she found herself sending off beams of light with fury and rage until she fell to her knees and broke into tears.

Aishda didn't know what to do, whether to comfort her or let the sobbing girl be. He quickly decided on option A. Walking over to her carefully, he draped his cloak over her shoulders and sat down beside her.

Zezuri cried silently into the ragged cape.

--

Back in Las Noches, Ulquiorra and Airi had finally made it to Syazel's labs. The fourth espada made a mental note to find out who was messing with the hallway controls. They had take many a turn and found the same hallway in front of them. Airi had been hopeful that Ulquiorra would give up and let her go, but she knew that would only happen if the sun ever rose in this dark world.

"It's about time…" Syazel said slowly, wondering if they'd ever show up.

Ulquiorra left to go find the culprit messing with the hallways.

Airi stood frozen in place, her thoughts whirling through her mind, what would this mad scientist do with her? Syazel stepped out of the way to reveal a chair with some sort of device on top.

"W-what?" Airi was confused.

"Sit here," he pointed to the chair. Airi obeyed and sat as Syazel lowered the device onto her head. It covered her eyes and head so she couldn't see anything; only smell, smell the dank, suffocating darkness, smell the fear perspiring off her own skin and smell the danger in the small room which just seemed to be growing smaller. As Syazel turned on the switch, Airi twitched; energy was surging throughout her body burning it, filling it, torturing her very cell structure.

"Stop…" Airi whimpered as the energy felt as if it was pinching her insides. Scared and angry her hands dug into the arms of the machine and electricity sparked everywhere. Airi released so much of her power that the machine fried and all of the lights burned out.

Syazel shielded himself from the sparks as Airi got up and ran out. The bulb from the single hanging ceiling light had been struck and it now was remnants of glass on the floor, the metal loose swinging with a creek from above. The open door swung a little, letting out an angry moan on its rusted hinges from being violently thrust open moment ago. "Damn," Syazel muttered, words would not come; too much sheer ferocity flowed through his mind for a moment. "Miscalculated or underestimated?" he muttered, regaining his calm slowly. The machine was without a doubt, ruined beyond repair. Syazel sighed, it was a big loss for him since it was his only power-gauging machine; now he'd have to build a new one… but that was a job for later. He ordered a few of his minions to clean up the mess. Minions, whom he had used the machine on to asses the amount of power they each contained, never had it failed him before, the design was able to handle power levels up to just below the espada rank. Writing down his conclusions, Syazel started to hand it to another minion, but thought it better to take it to Aizen himself.

Airi ran through the halls, not really knowing where she was going. Sparks were still flying off her. After a few minutes, she found herself at her room, though she was quite certain she had been running in the opposite direction. She walked over to her bed and collapsed on it. It occurred to her now that she had less of an idea as to what was going on here than she had originally believed. Her thoughts wandered back to Zezuri as she stared dully at the blank ceiling. Was she still alive? Airi's thoughts were interrupted by the usual culprit; Ulquiorra had entered the room.

"It is time for more training," he said. Without waiting for a protest or comment he stood outside of the doorway.

This time the practice room was packed to capacity with hollows, all trying to get Airi as she entered. Wearily, she drew her blazing yellow sword.

Hours later, Airi once again managed to beat every single hollow. "She did it again… she is more powerful and non-trashy as we thought…" Ulquiorra silently noted.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading!! Reviews and comments are wanted!!


	11. Unexpected Occurrences

**Bleached: Ep. 11**

_Disclaimer: You know this by now; we don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our characters._

_Note: Things finally get interesting! Okay, we've always thought the story was fun, being as we wrote it just to help us through school. High school can be a drag... We wrote this part back in late Feburary. Anyhow, this part is one of our favorites. -Airi_

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Syazel arrived into Aizen's throne room

Syazel arrived into Aizen's throne room. "What is it, Syazel?" Aizen questioned.

"I have the human's results," Syazel said, handing Aizen the results, "She seems to have power, greater than any of my enhanced arrancar, it bothers me," added Syazel.

"Alright…" Aizen turned to Gin who had just entered the room, "Do you have news of the other human girl?" he asked.

"Yes… it seems her powers have awakened, how long before you want her back?" replied the other ex-captain.

"In time, just make sure that the espada who we send kills that soul reaper…"

--

Grimmjow wandered the hallways silently, his hands in his pockets. Suddenly he felt something jab him in the back. Grimmjow slowly turned his head to see Luppi. "What do you want?" he asked irritated.

"Nothing. You've just been so quiet this whole time… it's not like you. Something on your mind?" Luppi teased.

"Why would there be you little-"

"Oh, come now, Luppi, don't tease him…" Gin joined in.

--

"Achoo!" Zezuir sneezed. Uh-oh, I hope I'm not getting a cold, she thought. Aishda had left a while ago to 'take care of some personal business' (visit the graves of his comrades), so she was alone, staring into the fire.

"What are you doing here, Gin? I thought you were busy in the computer room, changing the hallways," Luppi said.

"I was bored and lonely, by the way… it'll be at least two days until we get her," said Gin, smirking.

"So cheer up lover-boy," jeered Luppi as he and Gin walked off before the sixth espada could react.

--

Aishda came back later; Zezuri was sitting on the ground, occupying herself by drawing doodles with a rock. "What are you doing?" Aishda peered over her shoulder, making her jump.

"I, um-uh, I was just drawing!" she said nervously.

"You mean these doodles?" Aishda inspected them. From what he could tell, there were a few attempts at a cat, a flower, all sorts of smiley faces, and a sum. "Umm… nice flower…" Aishda tried to give some sort of complement to the badly drawn doodles.

Zezuri sighed, "I was bored… and… I'm kind of tired," She found a smooth spot on the cave's floor and eventually feel asleep.

--

The next two days passed along the same way for Zezuri, in the mornings she'd help Aishda in his hollow slaying rampage and in the afternoons she practiced with her power. She found after a few tries, that it worked better for etching in the rock than using a rock. "Looks like it's time to find a new cave," noted Aishda under his breath when he came back to find Zezuri finishing the forty-second flower on the north wall. The other two walls were already filled to capacity with kittens frolicking through fields of various flowers.

--

As for Airi, those two days were spent training; four times a day she was put in the same room, always packed with hollows. Each time she defeated them faster and faster. Afterwards she'd be placed back in her room with an espada member as a guard.

It was now the beginning of the fourth day since Zezuri's banishment. Airi had been back from her third training session of the day for about a half an hour. Luppi, the current guard was staring off into space, quite bored, he suddenly perked up when he heard the approach of a visitor. Airi was 99.7 confident that it was Ulquiorra, coming to take her to the fourth round of training. Instead, Hailbel, the only female espada entered. "Come," she said to Airi with a commanding tone. Power emanated off of her stronger than Ulquiorra. Airi followed without a word wondering why Ulquiorra wasn't the one leading her off.

They traveled in complete silence through the halls, but they passed the normal door and proceeded to Aizen's office. Hailbel opened the door and stepped back. "Enter," she stated. Airi stepped into the room apprehensively.

"Come here, Airi," gently commanded Aizen.

Airi walked over to where Aizen was sitting, failing to notice Gin and Tosen had followed her from the doorway where they had been waiting, until they were right next to her.

Aizen looked at his subordinates as if to give them a mental signal.

Suddenly they grabbed Airi by her arms and held her in place.

--

"We need to move to a different cave…" stated Aishda.

"Why?" asked Zezuri, who was feeling quite accomplished with her drawings.

"I have a feeling they've found us…"

"Who… you mean…" Zezuri realized that he meant the espada.

--

Grimmjow was wandering the hallways again, this time surprisingly lost in thought. "What did those two idiots mean by that? And cheer up? Why would I be depressed?!" he asked himself irritated, thinking back to what Luppi and Gin had said four days ago. "I don't care about that stupid human! I hope she gets eaten!" he shouted out loud, but he knew he was kidding himself… he found it torture not having that human girl to look out for and carry around all the time. But this wasn't the way for an espada to feel, not towards a human, not towards anyone.

From around a corner, the fourth espada appeared.

"Going to get the human from training?" Grimmjow teased.

"No. She's with Aizen-sama at the moment," stated Ulquiorra, "Aizen-sama ordered me to tell you to go retrieve the other girl from the Menos Forest. Eradicate the shinigami if necessary."

Grimmjow's eyes widened, he hadn't expected to be the one to go bring back the girl. Without a word he ran off for the nearest exit.

--

Airi was too stunned for words, "What's going on?!" her mind searched frantically for an answer, were they going to throw her out? No, that wouldn't require the three leaders and one of the strongest of their minions. Airi's mind never reached a conclusion before Aizen gave it to her.

"You've grown much stronger that we predicted," he stated, his face in the calm smile it always wore.

That smile drove Airi berserk; suddenly she wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his scheming face.

As if he could read her mind, Aizen released more of his powerful aura, enough that Airi fell to her knees. "As you can clearly see, you may be powerful against regular hollows and low-ranked arrancar, but you fall short of the espada," the leader stood up and walked over to a short circular pillar, which Airi had mistook for a table. He tapped it and it spiraled open like a fancy jewelry box. Reaching in, he pulled out a small clear box with a dark swirling, purple orb suspended in it's center. "This is the Hougyoku, an object filled with the power to alter or destroy the very fabric of the universe," Suddenly blue fire engulfed the box and the hand in which Aizen held it.

Gin and Tosen pulled Airi to her feet and held her there tightly.

--

Aishda and Zezuri began to cross the Menos Forest with much caution. "They're coming… I can feel it…" worry overtook Aisha's face behind his mask.

Zezuri was wondering why they were coming back for her when they had thrown her out… although, like Aishda said before, they could have just fed her to the hollows. She knew that somehow they had found out she unlocked her powers. She could heal and fire off beams of light.

"Stay here a moment, Zezuri. Let me take care of that hollow over there…" Aishda flash-stepped away to take care of the hollow.

Zezuri hid quickly behind a tree. She watched Aishda battle the hollow, but she felt a creeping presence that someone was behind her.

"Finally found ya…"

Zezuri slowly turned her head, eyes wide, to see the owner of the voice. "AISHDA!!" she screamed for help.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading!! Oohh!! Like I said at the top; things are getting interesting, right? Comments, reviews, other stuff? C'mon, we don't bite!!


	12. End of a Heartbeat

**Bleached: Ep. 12**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are our characters._

_Note: I just read chapter 100 of Turn Back the Pendulm (part of Bleach)... wow... things are happening like I thought they would, I won't say anything about what happens, but geez... I thought I was making random stuff up for my predictions! Anyhow, this chapter contains some odd uses of an item that might not work that way, but hey, it's fanfiction. We tweak things to fit our plot! -Airi_

* * *

Aizen walked slowly forwards the girl being supported by his fellow ex-captains. Each step seemed deliberate and painstakingly long. If Airi could have moved, she would have been trembling in fear, instead, she found herself completely immobile. Finally he stood a foot away from her, Airi glared fiercely up at him intently, but Aizen was focused on what he was about to do. Slowly he lowered his hand, the fire grew in magnitude and turned from blue to purple. Without a warning, he slammed it into Airi.

After Aishda defeated the hollow he heard Zezuri shriek his name. He went to the location he left her to see that Grimmjow had Zezuri by the arm.

"Ngh…" Zezuri tried to squirm away but Grimmjow's grip was tightly secure.

"You're coming back with me, woman!" Grimmjow scowled.

Aishda, sword still drawn, stood thinking of what to do. "Let her go or I can't guarantee that I'll let you live…" warned Aishda.

"Don't lecture me on the guarantee to live, soul reaper…" said Grimmjow, glaring back at Aishda.

Zezuri stared frightfully at Aishda, feeling the tension of the battle about to commence.

Pain shot through every part of Airi's body. Something formed on her chest and broke before she saw what it was, resulting in even more pain. She cried out in agony, eyes filling over with tears.

Aizen had stepped back, but was unfazed by the scene in front of him.

Gin and Tosen still held fast to the wailing girl.

Airi's tears started to become milky in color and flowed across her face, covering it briefly, then shattering into solid bits. Most of the shards left her and disintegrated save for a few pieces in her hair. The pain was now receding; Airi felt very drained and passed out from exhaustion. Gin and Tosen carefully set her on the floor.

"Enter," commanded Aizen, sensing a strong presence outside the door.

It opened and Ulquiorra entered.

"Did you give Grimmjow his orders?" inquired Aizen as if nothing had been happening.

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

"Good. Take this girl back to her room," he ordered indicating Airi's unconscious form on the floor.

"Understood," Ulquiorra picked Airi up and left the room.

"What do you want with her?! You throw her out here just to get her power? I can't let you monsters harm that innocent girl anymore!" Aishda gripped his sword tightly.

"Heh, I'll rip that mouth out of you if you keep talking… get ready to fight so I don't kill you that easily," Grimmjow let go of Zezuri.

Zezuri looked back and forth between the two, "Please, stop! Don't fight!" Zezuri pleaded.

"Quiet! Watch the show, I'll be done with this quickly so I can take you back," Grimmjow said.

"I won't allow you to leave her alive, and I won't allow you to take Zezuri!" protested Aishda.

"Shut up already and fight!" Grimmjow charged in with his fists. Aishda dodged the incoming blow with a flash step, but Grimmjow, knowing the same technique followed quickly with a series of punches but Aishda dodged them all. Grimmjow came in close with a blow, but Aishda blocked it with his sword. Grimmjow grabbed hold of Aishda's sword by the blade and ripped it from his opponent's hands, throwing it to the ground. "Should have held that sword a little tighter!" Before Aishda could blink, Grimmjow kicked him in the face, sending him flying backward. "Phe, you're so boring! No match for an espada at all! And here I came thinking I would get some action… Get up, weakling!" shouted Grimmjow. He walked over to Aishda as he was looking for his sword. Grimmjow was about to fire a cero blast when Zezuri grabbed his hand. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Please, don't hurt him!" Zezuri held onto his hand tightly as Grimmow struggled.

"Get off!" Grimmjow was finally released and threw Zezuri to the ground. Zezuri didn't know what to think as Aishda found his sword again and charged at Grimmjow. All she could do was watch and see what happened. But oddly, despite for her hatred towards the espada, she strangely felt happy to see Grimmjow, but she couldn't stand the fact of either him or Aishda hurt. She needed to do something, but what? Aishda and Grimmjow continued to battle and when Grimmjow got Aishda where he wanted him, he fired off a cero. Aishda dodged it and the cero broke a whole tree, which began to fall right at Zezuri.

"Zezuri!" both Aishda and Grimmjow rushed over to save her, but Aishda got her first. Aishda held onto Zezuri tightly as the clouds of sand from the crash began to settle. Suddenly Grimmjow charged out of the dust and punched Aishda in the face. Aishda lost his grip on Zezuri and as he was punched into the air, Grimmjow flashed upwards and repeatedly punched and kicked the shinigami. The espada grabbed Aishda by the arm and swung him with great force. As Grimmjow let go of Aishda, he flew into the ground with great impact. Aishda was beat up, bleeding and most likely unconscious, since he wasn't moving.

Zezuri coughed and tried to see through all the dust. Once it all cleared, she saw Aishda not moving. "Aishda!" Zezuri exclaimed. She was about to go over to him, but Grimmjow appeared suddenly in front of her. She wasn't about to let that stop her. Grimmjow was blocking her way as she tried to get past him to get to Aishda.

"Leave him and lets go…" said Grimmjow, trying to hold her in place.

"Leave me alone!" shouted Zezuri as her hand suddenly came in contact with his face.

Grimmjow stood there stunned as they both looked at each other surprised. He never thought that she would do something like that. The whole forest seemed silent.

"I-I…" Zezuri couldn't speak as tears began to flow like waterfalls.

Grimmjow looked away, mildly depressed.

Zezuri ran by the blue-haired espada to the fallen shinigami. Summoning her power blue light engulfed her hands and spread to Aishda, his wounds began to heal. Grimmjow recovered from shock, he walked over, grabbed Zezuri and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift despite her protests. "Aishda!" she yelled, "I haven't finished healing him!"

"Quiet down, you've healed him enough that he'll live. Besides, I'm under orders to kill him, but I'll overlook that if you come quietly."

Zezuri stopped struggling.

"Good, lets go."

Zezuri cried silently on Grimmjow's back as he carried her back to Las Noches, leaving Aishda and the Menos' Forest behind.

They finally returned to Las Noches, Zezuri had stopped crying and had been silent for most of the trip. I'm back at this prison, she thought, I hope Airi is okay… I wonder what happened while I was gone. Grimmjow brought her to Aizen's throne room.

"You're back, welcome home," Aizen said as Grimmjow set Zezuri down. Zezuri didn't respond. "Sorry we had to throw you out like that, but it was the only thing we could do. I trust you took care of that soul reaper, Grimmjow."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll talk more tomorrow, Grimmjow, take her to her cell, I trust she is eager to see her friend," Aizen ordered.

And with that, Grimmjow led Zezuri down the long white hallways again. There was an awkward silence between the two, the entire time. They reached the cell and Zezuri peeked inside to see Airi lying on the bed, clearly unconscious.

"What happened?!" Zezuri gasped as she went over to her.

"I don't know… just leave her alone and she'll wake up in time… go to sleep or something…" Grimmjow took his post, sitting in the doorway.

Zezuri looked at him a moment then back to the floor. She didn't really know what to do. Time passed as she sat on her bed quietly.

Grimmjow fell asleep in the doorway.

Zezuri got up and grabbed an extra blanket that was folded on the windowsill. She quietly laid it over him before returning to her bed to sleep.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading! This part was written late Feburary, just in case anyone was wondering.


	13. Tearful Reunion

**Bleached: Ep. 13**

_Disclaimer: We still don't own Bleach. Thanks for checking, I guess. Airi and Zezuri are our characters._

_Note: Yay. Graduation is over. I'm exhausted... -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri woke up to find Airi still sleeping; she walked over to her, "Airi? Hey, wake up!" she called.

No response.

"Airi?!"

"Ngh… I'm up…" moaned Airi, after Zezuri shook her.

_"Are you okay!?" What happened?! What did they do to you while I was gone?!" Zezuri asked. _

Airi sat up, "Ow, my head hurts," she put a hand up to the right side of her head, "Ugh, something's in my hair." Getting up she went over to the mirror. "What the heck?" said Airi tugging at the two white streaks of solid material on the right side of her head. They ran from her hairline backwards to the back of her head where they bent downwards and went to her shoulder.

_"I-it's just like the others! What happened?!" _

"It wasn't there yesterday… I can't remember anything after Aizen hit me with a flaming box-thing…"

_"F-flaming box?" Zezuri exclaimed. "Wait, does this mean… you're one of them?" _

"I-I don't know!!" Airi was panicking now as well.

The commotion woke Grimmjow up from his sleep. "What's going on?" he asked looking first at Zezuri, then to Airi. "So that's what Aizen wanted with you…" he said quietly, staring at the material in Airi's hair.

"Is she…?" asked Zezuri scared of the answer.

The blue haired espada sighed, why was he the one who had to put up with the drama? Then again, he thought, none of the other espada, save maybe for Stark, besides himself would really be able to deal with this without doing something drastic or heartless. "Looking at her, I'd say so," he finally replied.

Airi moaned.

"Are you sure?" asked Zezuri all hope vanishing as she stared at her captor.

"There are three main things that all arrancar have; part of a mask," he pointed to his extra half-jaw, "no heart-beat; and a hole."

Zezuri grabbed her friend's wrist. Nothing. The friends exchanged panicked glances. _Zezuri couldn't maintain her calm. Her heart was beating like crazy. Airi was one of them now. Zezuri knew if it was like this, Airi could never go back home if they ever got the chance. Would she be turned into one of these hollow beings? She thought, it didn't matter at the moment; the problem now was that Airi was an arrancar. Zezuri embraced her friend and began to cry. She couldn't leave her friend behind. "How am I going to take you back with me…?" Zezuri said through her tears. Grimmjow sat there looking at the ground before noticing the blanket Zezuri had covered him with earlier. Zezuri was a good kid. She was bright, even if her grades weren't. She had a big heart and always thought of others before herself, so she would never leave behind her friend. She always had a special power to see the kindness and good in people, even if they never really showed it. _

The tearful moment was interrupted by Aizen's messenger; Ulquiorra. Staring at Zezuri who was still hugging her friend, he commanded, "Aizen-sama wishes to speak with you." Zezuri's hear almost stopped, the moment of truth was approaching for what Aizen had in store for her. Wordlessly, she followed the black-haired espada from the room, down the long, straight, plain hallways to Aizen's office.

Upon entering, Zezuri was greeted by Aizen who dismissed the two guards at the door. Looking around Zezuri noticed that aside from Ulquiorra and Aizen, no one else was in the room. "I trust you've rested up and got a chance to speak with your friend?" Aizen inquired.

At the mention of Airi, Zezuri's eyes welled up with tears.

"Don't worry, I have different plans in store for you," he paused a moment for his words to sink in. "Arrancars do not have healing capabilities as strong as yours, nor do they have much talent in kido at all."

"K-Kido?" stuttered the terrified girl.

"Demon magic. Normally only shinigami can use it, but every now and then an exception arises, like you."

"Me?" Zezuri's voice was hardly more than a scared whisper.

"You not only can use kido, but it seems you can do the basics without an incantation already."

Zezuri thought about the blue beams and healing she'd done.

"Since it's shinigami magic, Tosen, Gin, and myself will teach you starting tomorrow," Aizen turned his gaze to Ulquiorra, "You may escort her back to her room now."

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

--

Airi was sitting on the floor with a concerned look on her face when Zezuri entered the room, ran over and sat next to her friend. "You're- they didn't-," Airi fumbled for the right way to phrase the question.

"I'm alright, A-Aizen said that he wouldn't turn me into an arrancar," she glanced uncertainly at Airi, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, that means we can hopefully get you out of here… if that's possible."

"So, you're really one… an arrancar?" Zezuri asked once again, most of her mind refusing to believe it.

Airi stared at the floor. "I looked…"

"What?" "A hole… right here," Airi put a hand to where Aizen had hit her.

_Zezuri shook her head in disbelief. "N-no… I'll find someway to get you back to normal! M-maybe I can learn a special kido or something to turn you back! I'm not going home without you!" Zezuri protested._

"That's not possible. There is no turning her back and you'll never go home!" said Grimmjow, who was listening to them while still on guard.

Zezuri frowned. "Monsters like you wouldn't understand!" Zezuri's eyes filled up with tears again. She paused, shocked at what she said; it was kind of rude.

Airi looked away, she knew the comment wasn't directed at her but she now felt classified as one of 'them'.

Grimmjow ignored the comment and turned back to the two girls, "You should have realized and accepted that fact by now."

Silence engulfed the room. Zezuri was silently crying on Airi's shoulder. The newest arrancar sat, holding her back her own tears to the best of her ability.

Grimmjow sighed and turned his attention to the doorway and decided that he'd rather be anywhere but in this miserable room.

--

That evening, if one could tell the time, dinner was nachos, which sat uneaten on Airi's plate. She felt like all the hope she'd had for escape had been sucked out of her. At least there's still hope for Zezuri, she thought.

Everyone else ate their dinner like any other day, which meant Luppi chattered with anyone who would listen and Aizen schemed.

"Airi," Aizen said interrupting the mini rainstorm in her mind. She looked up at the man she hated more that she thought was possible and it shone clearly in her eyes.

Zezuri nudged her friend when sparks started to fly, jumping from Airi to the metal fork in Zezuri's hand.

Airi calmed enough to contain the sparks.

"Tomorrow, you are to start training with Stark," Aizen commented.

The said espada gave a bored look to his leader and a quick half grin to Airi.  
_  
"Whoa… jeez… I never noticed this guy before…" Zezuri poked at her food nervously._

--

Dinner was finished and this time, strangely, Gin was the one guarding the room. Both of the girls felt uncomfortable with this creepy man. "We decided to give Grimmjow a break for awhile," Gin stated, knowing that they were both wondering what happened with the blue haired espada.

Zezuri couldn't sleep; thoughts of the day kept replaying. She still felt bad about what she had said, "monsters…" she thought. But Airi wasn't a monster… so what gave her the right to call the rest of them that? Everything was so messed up that Zezuri's only wish was to go home, but she would make sure Airi was coming with her.

"Can't sleep?" Gin slowly turned his head toward Zezuri.

Zezuri shook her heard.

"Aww, you poor thing, you must have had it so rough…" he said.

Zezuri looked at him, wondering if he was being sarcastic. With that creepy smile, she never knew what he was thinking, which was exactly how he wanted it.

"I'm not joking, it must be difficult being taken away from your home by total strangers who seems to love nothing more than to torture you, hmm?" Gin stated the truth as if he could read the girl's mind. "And now your friend is what you call a 'monster'."

"Stop! I didn't mean it like that…" Zezuri covered her ears. She didn't want to hear anymore.

"But that's what you wanted to call him? You're right; he's a heartless beast, he betrayed your trust, didn't he? He doesn't have a heart, he can't feel anything, and now your friend will be the same way before too long."

Gin's snake-like words coiled around Zezuri's mind.

He walked over and patted her head, "We're all just a bunch of monsters, plotting our way 'til we get what we want… well, bye bye." And with that he walked out the door.

Zezuri and Airi really didn't need a guard; Aizen just liked assigning one. The girls couldn't escape anyway. Zezuri felt so helpless; she didn't know what to do; she just wanted everything to go back to the way it had been. This wasn't fair.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Thanks for reading... (falls asleep) (sorry, Airi's running on 3 hours of sleep at the moment) Zzzz... Zzzz...


	14. Kido and Cero

**Bleached: Ep. 14**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach... never have, never will. Airi and Zezuri are our characters. _

_Note: Kido numbers and some espada ranks might be wrong. That's because we don't know them for sure! Sorry if it bothers anyone. If you find out for sure tell us and we'll make the necessary corrections. Merci beacoup en advance! __-Airi_

_

* * *

_Airi woke up awhile later from a scary dream; people in black kimonos had chased her relentlessly through the endless desert of Hueco Mundo. Pushing the remains of it from her mind, she sat up to see Zezuri staring at her. "Please, don't tell me I was talking in my sleep."

Zezuri shook her head.

"Good," Airi replied. She stood up and walked over to Zezuri, who was sitting on her own bed looking dazed. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"

Again her friend was silent, but this time she nodded.

Airi knew what was going through her friend's mind; the same thoughts she herself was doing her best to restrain.

--

Gin showed up later, this time to retrieve Zezuri for her kido session. "Come on now, can't leave Aizen-sama waiting," he said in a cheerful tone. Zezuri couldn't really focus due to her lack of sleep, but she got up and followed him anyway, her feet dragging a little. He led her down the empty hallways, passing Grimmjow along the way. Their eyes met for a short moment, but Grimmjow looked away quickly, as if he didn't notice her. It wasn't like she expected him to say much, but she oddly wanted him to. Zezuri's stomach felt like it was in knots, until his presence was gone.

Gin led Zezuri to a room near Aizen's office that was clearly used for training. The floor and walls were covered in dents, scorch marks, and what looked like claw marks. Aizen was, as usual, waiting for them when they entered. "Are you ready?" he asked Zezuri.

Keeping to her tired silence, she nodded.

"Then we shall begin," Aizen said as several targets popped up. "Eliminate all of the targets in the time of five minutes," he stepped back as Zezuri got into the position she had practiced with Aishda. She charged up some energy in her hand but this time the burst was like a firework release from her hand.

"Hado 65?" said Gin.

"Ah, I remember that one," said Aizen, observing Zezuri's actions.

--

Meanwhile, Airi was on her way to Stark's domain, led as usual, by Ulquiorra. As they passed thought the halls in silence, Airi found herself staring at his mask for most of the walk.

--

Zezuri was exhausted; she sank to the floor on her knees. "Good work, that's all for today. Your kido is very powerful and accurate. I shall teach you some new spells tomorrow," said Aizen. And with that Gin showed Zezuri to the door. When it opened, Grimmjow was standing there waiting to take her back to her cell. Zezuri thought Gin would have taken her back, so she was surprised to see him.

"Bye bye." Gin waved, as he nudged Zezuri out the door, closing it behind her. Grimmjow was already halfway down the hallway.

"Hurry up,' he said irritably. "Uhmm… y-yeah," Zezuri caught up with him quickly. They walked down the hallway quietly until they passed Syazel.

"Why hello there, Zezuri. Welcome back," Syazel said with a smile. Zezuri's eyes widened; she hated this man as much as she feared him. "I hear that you finally have power. Isn't it interesting? I'd like to look further into that…" Syazel peered into Zezuri's eyes over his thin glasses.

Zezuri coiled her arms close to her in order to somehow protect her self. Grimmjow touched Zezuri's shoulder, making her step back a little.

"Move along, eight, I'm just taking her back to her cell," stated Grimmjow glaring at Syazel as if to say, "Get out of my way."

Syazel calmly closed his eyes and smirked. "Watch yourself, number six…" he said as he continued on his way.

Grimmjow growled under his breath before turning back to Zezuri. "C'mon…" he said as they continued down the hallway.

The meeting with Syazel had made the puncture marks on Zezuri's neck sting.

--

Airi and Ulquiorra reached Stark's domain. The first espada was taking a nap, but woke up upon the entry of the two arrancars. "Here already?" Stark greeted them, "Let's get started," he said turning to Airi.

Ulquiorra turned and left the room as silently as he had entered.

"So, you're the one Aizen changed into an arrancar directly from human."

Airi looked down at the floor, unsure of how to answer.

"I bet you don't even know half of what you are capable of now," Stark continued while wondering why Aizen had chosen him of all arrancar for this. Surely there was someone more willing? "I guess we'll have to start with the basics," he sighed and put out his arm towards the wall. Suddenly a red beam of light shot out from his hand. "That is called cero, I'm sure you've seen someone use it before."

Airi put a hand to the damaged part of her hair, remembering all too well what had done it.

"Now, you try it," the first espada encouraged. Mimicking his motions, Airi willed power through her arm resulting in a slightly smaller beam, but a true blast nonetheless.

"Very good. You did it," Stark commented, "It's not quite as powerful as an espada's, but you did it."

Airi felt the new power she gained surge through her being. Why is Aizen trying to make me more powerful? If I have so much power… I could… no, not possible… Airi thought to herself.

--

Grimmjow and Zezuri finally made it back to the cell. Grimmjow took his usual place in the doorway and Zezuri went over to the window, gazing out at the endless desert and the abysmal night sky. A slight breeze blew threw her hair making oddly at ease. She was about to turn around when she tripped on her own foot, causing her to hit the floor. "Owww…" she whispered quietly.

--

Twenty minutes had passed in Airi's training. "Hmm, you learn as fast Aizen told me you did," Stark complemented Airi. Her cero blasts had gotten stronger and it was now taking her less effort to summon them. "I think that'll be enough for today," he said after glancing at the doorway.

Ulquiorra was standing there as still as a statue. "Time to go back to your room," the fourth espada spoke to Airi.

"You mean my prison," Airi retorted, speaking for the first time in over an hour.

"It's not a prison, since you are not a prisoner."

"I'm here against my will and tortured, I think it counts as one."

"You are not being kept here, rather you have no place to go." Ulquiorra gazed challengingly into Airi's eyes.

She glanced away.

--

"What now?" said Grimmjow, glancing at Zezuri. She was lying on the ground staring at the ceiling. She suddenly shot up when she realized Grimmjow was looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. While shooting up, she accidentally slammed her head into his. Grimmjow's iron hard skin took no damage, but Zezuri knew that would leave a bruise on her.

"Owie!!" Zezuri squealed, huddled up on the ground, holding her head.

"Stupid! What is the matter with you!?" Grimmjow rubbed his head.

"What happened?" yelled Airi rushing into the room, "You did this, didn't you?" she accused Grimmjow.

"Tch, not my fault she can't even stand up without hurting herself," muttered the espada back to Airi.

"It's my fault, Airi," said Zezuri throught the pain of her throbbing head, "I fell over and then crashed into him when I stood up," Rubbing her head she stood up. "Oh, that's right," she said to no one in particular, "I can heal myself." Her hand glowed with blue energy as the red mark on her forehead vanished. "So, where'd your grumpy escort go?" Zezuri asked Airi, realizing he hadn't come into the room with her friend as he normally did.

"You mean Ulquiorra?" Airi asked. Zezuri nodded.

"I don't know, he left me when we reached this hallway. And I'd say he's more gloomy than grumpy."

"Same difference," Grimmjow put his own opinion in, "but it sounds like you've made him worse."

"How so?"

"He always sees his missions through to the very end, that's why he always comes in the room."

"But, he didn't even watch to see if I went to the room or not." "Meaning something's up with him."

"I wonder what…"

"We'll never know."

**To be continued...**

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Thanks a bunch for reading this far!! We love you for that! Comments and reviews; those are good!


	15. Midnight Stroll

**Bleached: Ep. 15**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are ours._

_Note: Warning: This chapter contains lots of Aizen. You have been warned... Mwaha hahaha! Sorry, I'm just mildly proud of that little part. -Airi_At dinner Airi had the pleasure of sitting next to Syazel and across from Luppi. Just when Airi was certain this moment couldn't get any worse, dinner was served; leek and miso soup. Airi hated leeks, once she'd suffered food poisoning from eating one on a dare. That thought made her mind wander back to her home and old life that she knew she'd never have again. An interruption of these thoughts came as she picked up her spoon. Huh? Is something stuck on the spoon? She wondered. Moving her thumb down, Airi realized nothing was stuck to the spoon; instead, a perfectly circular hole had been blasted through the neck of the spoon.

* * *

Zezuri was sitting in between Luppi and Grimmjow. She looked across the table to see what Airi was staring at intensely before Luppi nudged her. "W-what was that for!?" Zezuri rubbed her arm in confusion.

"Oh nothing, just felt like it," Luppi grinned.

Airi ignored the antics from across the table as she continued to study her spoon intently. The location of the hole was precisely in the center… just like a certain gloomy fourth espada's… glancing up; she looked around to find Ulquiorra. He wasn't to the right of her or at the end of the table by Aizen, like he normally was. Not across the table… wait, who's on my left? Airi glanced out the corner of her eyes to see none other than Ulquiorra sitting beside her. Awkward, she thought, how did I miss that?

Zezuri's stomach made a loud grumbling noise so she started to eat.

"You two are free to roam the fortress as you please, but I recommend you wander with a partner," stated Aizen, sipping his tea. Airi and Zezuri were shocked at this new grant of freedom.

Airi looked from Aizen, to Ulquiorra and then back to her spoon, wondering if this was the result from their argument from earlier.

--

After dinner, Airi and Zezuri were lead back to their room by Luppi; Grimmjow was off duty. "We can go freely through this fortress, yet we still need a guard," muttered Airi to Zezuri as they approached their room.

"Because one of you still runs the risk of getting eaten by a stray hollow," Luppi sighed, finding it ridiculous to explain this.

"What? I can defend myself!" Yelled Zezuri indignantly.

"If I heard correctly, you wandered into a room full of hollows and was saved by Grimmjow. And when you were in the Menos' Forest, the shinigami was protecting you."

"That… that was before I could use my power," Managed Zezuri, taken slightly aback by Luppi's knowledge of what she'd been through.

Luppi dropped off Zezuri and Airi and then left with a smile and a wave.

--

While Airi slept, Zezuri went into the hallways for a walk. I can't sleep lately, she thought to herself. She looked down the vast hallways; they seemed endless. She touched the white wall. It felt smooth and cool. "Everything here is hard and cold…" she continued to walk around for a while longer before deciding to go back to the room. "Hmmm… something's not right… I swear I went this way but… it doesn't seem familiar…" Zezuri recalled someone saying something about the changing hallways. "I'm sure I'll find my way back somehow…" she hoped. "I'm an idiot! I should have stayed in my room!" Zezuri smacked her head with her hand lightly.

--

Airi sat up suddenly in her bed; once again the black robed figures had plagued her dreams. She wasn't sure what would happen to her if they caught her. Looking around the room she noticed Zezuri's absence. She sat listing intently for any sounds of her friend. Hearing some footsteps in the hallway, she got up to find out what was bother her friend. Airi exited the room to find not Zezuri, but Grimmjow.

--

Zezuri headed back the way she thought she'd come from, but wasn't making any progress.

"I wouldn't advise wandering these halls alone," said a voice from behind her. The voice's owner put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

Zezuri turned to see Aizen's encouraging smile.

"Did you get lost?" he asked.

She nodded.

"You shouldn't go wandering off like that, these hallways are tricky," he gently admonished, "It wouldn't do if you were eaten by some hollow; you're a vital part of my plans."

"Plans?" asked Zezuri, hoping in her mind she'd get the answers she was looking for.

"Yes, I think I can trust you with them, seeing how you're such a responsible girl," He patted her on the head.

Zezuri wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad one.

"You see, I didn't always reside here. I lived in what is known as Soul Society, or the Seireitei, I was a captain there, but that's not the point. We were always told what to do, where to go and how to do everything. So, naturally, I got sick of that after a few centuries. I started secretly researching kido and other things, finding the quest for power to be worthwhile. However, soon I'd read through everything that was of any interest and used my status as far as I could, but still could not obtain what I needed. I set my plans in motion, took what I needed and came here."

Zezuri noticed how Aizen left out most of the details. Sounds like he doesn't trust me as much as I thought…

"I left them a trail to follow, the whole of Seireitei believes I'm attempting to create a new king's key, but what I'm after… is something entirely different."

Zezuri stared at the ex-captain, wondering where she and Airi fell into these plans, but the answer didn't come; they'd reached the room.

"Here you are, " said Aizen making sure Zezuri entered the room before walking off.

As she walked over to her own bed she noticed Airi was now missing. "Oh no! She probably went to look for me and got lost too! I should go look for her, but wait, if I get lost again that won't solve anything!" Zezuri decided to go sit in the doorway to wait for her friend.

--

Airi was startled to find the blue haired arrancar and not her friend around the corner.

"What are you doin' out of your room? Don't you know that you'll get lost in these hallways?" he asked.

"I came to find Zezuri, she wasn't in bed." Airi said quickly to avoid argument.

Grimmjow sighed with the little tolerance he ever had, "I'm sure she's fine, some of the other arrancar are awake and wandering the hallways. Someone must have found her and she's back in the room by now," He tried to explain.

"Yeah… okay…" Airi felt reassured. She went to turn and leave, "What do you think of Zezuri?" asked Airi out of the blue.

Grimmjow paused, "What's there to think about? Go back to your cell!" he finally said.

Airi left without hesitation.

--

Airi came back to her room and tripped over Zezuri who'd fallen asleep in the doorway while waiting for her. "Agh!" yelled Airi, falling to the floor.

"Huh? W-what's going on?" asked Zezuri waking up, she reached out and grabbed something, her eyes still adjusting to the dark room.

"Are you trying to pull my head off?" "Airi?" Zezuri realized she'd grabbed one of the two mask fragments in her friend's hair.

"Oh, sorry!" she said letting go.

The two friends sat up slowly.

"Where did you go?" Airi asked Zezuri, "I went to go find you because you disappeared."

"Yeah, I kinda got lost…"

"Thought so."

"Aizen found me…"

"Aizen?"

"Yeah," Zezuri told Airi about the conversation she'd had with the ex-captain.

He didn't tell you what, though… thought Airi when Zezuri had finished.

"He seemed to leave out a lot of details, but he also told me about another place beside our world and this one, called soul society…" said Zezuri.

"Hmm…" Airi thought.

"So where did you go?" Zezuri asked.

"Not that far…" Airi said looking away. "Just around the corner, then I thought I heard you coming back…"

Zezuri looked at Airi, not convinced, but decided to leave it.

"Well it's late. We should get to bed," said Zezuri getting up. The girls got into their beds.

"Hey Zezuri?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of Grimmjow?"

Zezuri remained quiet. "I… don't know… he's saved my life a few times…. But he's also a jerk… but …" Zezuri finally responded after a few moments.

"But what?" asked Airi.

"Ummm… nothing!" Zezuri turned over and pulled the covers up to her face.

Airi didn't say anything and just went to sleep.

**To Be Continued...**

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Merci beacoup for reading! Things will begin to get exciting... next chapter I think, yep! Comments, reviews? C'mon people? Please?


	16. No Mercy for the Arrancar

**Bleached: Ep. 16**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, unless we're talking laundry detergent, in which case, I still don't own any! Zezuri and Airi are ours._

_Note: If you were getting bored with the "lack of action" be bored no longer! These next two chapters are guaranteed to make you smile. -Airi_

* * *

A few days passed and neither of the two girls heard anymore about the 'plan'. In fact Zezuri almost started to think it had all been a dream until one morning at breakfast.

"Grimmjow, " Aizen spoke, "I want you to go to 'that' location I told you about today and try to locate a shard."

"Finally, some action!" exclaimed Grimmjow.

"The seireitei is bound to be monitoring the area, so you should take a small group with you," Aizen paused a moment and looked thoughtfully around the table. His eyes stopped on Airi for a brief moment. "Take Airi with you; some real experience might help her more than Starks' training."

Grimmjow looked like he was about to protest, but then thought better of it.

"Don't drag us down, Airi," he said after a moment. "D-Roy, Ilfort, let's go." The blue-haired espada got up and exited the room followed by D-Roy, Ilfort, and Airi.

Zezuri watched them leave, hoping that Airi would be all right; whatever the mission was, it sounded dangerous.

Grimmjow's party went to a deserted room in which the sixth espada summoned a gate. A straight black line appeared in the air in front of them and split open. Airi recognized it as the same kind of portal that had brought her here.

Now with Airi gone, Zezuri was left by herself. Luppi was guarding the doorway. "Oh, foo! I didn't get to go and have fun! Why did D-Roy and Ilfort get to go?!" Luppi complained.

"And Airi is gone now too… I hope she's okay…" Zezuri whined with Luppi.

"Well, I say we do something while they're gone," commented Luppi.

"Like what?" Zezuri asked.

"I'll show you. Come on!" Luppi grabbed Zezuri's arm and dragged her from the room.

Grimmjow entered the portal first followed by Ilfort.

"Well, c'mon, we don't have time to waste," muttered D-Roy before disappearing into the darkness of the portal.

Airi followed, her mind wondering where exactly this black gash in the air lead to. She walked through pitch-darkness for a few seconds and then found herself peering out into blue sky. Airi was now realizing how long it'd been since she'd seen the sun, but discovered she'd lost count of the days.

"So, what are we looking for?" asked Ilfort.

"A shard of the raz-de-mer-de-temps," replied Grimmjow, "It should give off a kind of signal that only hollows and arrancar can detect." Grimmjow stepped out into the sky. The other three arrancar followed him.

Airi looked across the horizon; blue sky stretched out further than the sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. Then she looked down. "Oh… my… gosh…" Airi managed, doing her best not to scream. About 3,000 feet (914.4 meters) below her was a cityscape spread out for as far as she could see. "This… isn't possible," she thought frantically. "Gravity, why isn't gravity pulling me down? Why aren't I falling?!"

Grimmjow sighed and shook his head. "Stark didn't mention this to you, did he?" Airi was still in shock. "Arrancar, hollows, and shinigami are all able to gain traction in the air."

"What's a shinigami?" Airi asked, having heard the word a bit, but just now remembering to ask.

"The opposite of a hollow, they wear black on white and always take human form."

Airi remembered her pursuers from her dreams.

"If we encounter any, they'll no doubt attempt to destroy us."

"D-destroy us?"

"It's their job to kill hollows."

Airi's eyes grew wide in fear, sure, she was used to fighting things that wanted to kill her because she was their prey, but now her enemies profession was the destruction of her kind.

"Let's go!" commanded Grimmjow as he sped off towards the ground.

Back in Las Noches, Luppi had dragged Zezuri to the computer room. "What's this Luppi, make a new friend?" asked Gin, who was already there before they had arrived.

"We just came to check out the cameras," explained Luppi.

Zezuri stood there until Gin motioned her over. She was on her way to take a seat until she was suddenly tackled to the ground. "WHOA!" she was pinned on the ground by a young blond arrancar.

"Wonderwice! Would you settle down?!" Gin scolded.

Zezuri, who didn't know what to make of this arrancar, looked at him with confusion as he tilted his head a bit.

"Sit boy!" Luppi ordered. Wonderwice obediently sat up and release Zezuri.

She got up and sat in the chair in between Gin and Luppi. Gin pressed a button showing Aizen's throne room. Currently, he was talking with Tosen, the ex-captain of squad nine.

"I have sent them out to retrieve a shard," said Aizen.

"Do you think they'll get it? You know that the general area is heavily guarded; we could lose a few," Tosen was slightly concerned.

"What are a few pieces of dust to scatter?" Aizen continued. Zezuri looked at the screen her eyes shaking. "Airi… be careful…"

Airi was the last of the four arrancars to reach the ground. They landed in a slightly wooded area. Looking around, nothing was glaringly out of place, but all four of the arrancars could feel the presence of something calling to them; something powerful. The wooded area they were in was far enough from the main stream of traffic and no one else was around. "Let's hurry, there's no doubt that soul society had noticed the arrival of four, fully developed arrancars," muttered Grimmjow. His three companions nodded. They all went in separate directions, trying to find what called them.

Airi wandered off wondering what exactly she was looking for, completely oblivious to everything around her.

"What are you looking for?" a voice from behind startled Airi out of her trance like state.

Zezuri and the other three, continued to watch Aizen and Tosen's conversation. "Wait, what are they looking for?" Zezuri leaned closer to the screen.

"Shh!" Luppi tried to listen.

"We call it the raz-de-mer-de-temps," Gin interrupted.

"Raz-de-mer-de-temps? What does it do?" both Luppi and Zezuri asked.

Gin's grin got wider. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find out," he looked back at the screen.

Wonderwice tugged on the hem of Zezuri's uniform. "Hmm?" she saw he was eagerly pointing to the doorway where Stark stood.

"What are you guys doing?" he scratched his head.

"N-nothing!" Gin quickly changed the screen.

"Gin, you're always up to something, really, what are you doing?" Stark asked again.

"What makes you think I'm always up to something? We're just having a polite conversation and tea, and teaching Wonderwice here to play dead," Gin slyly covered up.

Stark looked at Wonderwice then to Zezuri. "What is she doing here?"

"If I left her alone I would get in trouble and it was boring staying put anyways!" Luppi explained.

"Y-yeah!" Zezuri tried to agree to make it sound true.

Gin suddenly slammed his hands on the control desk, "So, who wants tea?" he asked.

Airi whirled around to see the owner of the voice. A young man stood behind her. He was about the same height as her, with short, bowl cut, black hair with some weird feather-like things on his face. He was dressed in the black uniform of the pursuers in her dreams.

"Shinigami!" something in her mind yelled.

Before she could do anything, she found his sword point at her neck. Airi stared in fear and shock; she hadn't been expecting him to be so fast. With his free hand, the shinigami pulled out a communicator from his robes and began speaking into it. "Yumichika here, I've got one of them," he paused and waited for a response, "Yes, she's fully developed, but, there's something odd about this one, she failed to realize I'd been tracking her. I think she's the weakest of the group."

"Weak?" a voice inside Airi's head screamed in indignation. Before she realized what she was doing, Airi drew her own sword.

While the four arrancar and Zezuri sat around doing nothing, Luppi was curious to see the rest of Aizen's conversation. He tapped his fingers on the control desk; the silence was quite annoying to him.

Gin brought out some more tea.

"This silence says it all… turn the screen back on," stated Stark.

"H-huh?" Zezuri was confused.

"You don't know what's going on either?" Luppi asked.

"Heck no!" Stark marched over to the control and turned the screen back on.

Yumichika and Airi were evenly matched, despite his initial thoughts. They had been fighting for five minutes now without stop. The shinigami was enjoying this fight, Airi realized, or had been until she drew blood on one swing. It was a light scratch on his hand, but suddenly he started to fight with three times the ferocity. The blows flew faster, but still Airi kept up, somewhere in her mind she knew she shouldn't be this calm during a fight for her life. Yet, she remained calm even when her opponent used the first release of his sword. The fight was becoming increasingly more intense; more of each of the combatants' blows hit each other, but neither one of them showed any signs of yielding. As the battle moved through the wooded area, Airi sensed something tugging at her mind, beckoning her to it. "No, I must focus on the fight," she fought frantically to keep her mind on her opponent. The constant nagging of whatever it was grabbed her attention for just long enough for Yumichika to send her flying into the trunk of a tree. "Oww…" she moaned, wondering how it was possible that she hadn't broken anything from that. Airi looked up at the shinigami, to instead find his sword less than an inch away from her face.

The group in the control room watched the rest of the conversation. It soon ended as Tosen left. Aizen looked up at the camera. "Having fun, Gin?" he asked.

Everyone in the room jumped back and Zezuri fell out of her seat.

"Aizen… I mean…" Gin wished he'd kept his mouth shut since the silence would have not given them away.

"Well there you have it, Zezuri," Aizen said, knowing she was there too. "Why don't you press that green button to the right? I placed a small camera on Airi before they left, why don't you watch the show?" he continued.

Zezuri reached over and pressed the green button, causing the screen to change. The camera displayed what was in front of Airi, of which they saw Yumichika holding her at sword point. "Airi!" Zezuri exclaimed.

Airi couldn't hear Zezuri; the camera on her mask was a one way and so small that no one had noticed it was there. Airi's mind was finally pulled out of her control as the call of the raz-de-mer-de-temps. Suddenly she vanished from beneath Yumichika's sword. He stared in shock at the former location of the arrancar he had been about to finish off. Airi was no where near the shinigami anymore, in fact she was a mile away; the presence of the raz-de-mer-de-temps was stronger than ever and driving her mad.

Grimmjow and the others were already near the shard of the raz-de-mer-de-temps. Airi spotted them and rushed over.

"About time," said Grimmjow.

"Sorry," Airi apologized, regaining enough sanity. The shard of the raz-de-mer-de-temps floated over a pedestal. "Why would it be in the middle of nowhere and so out in the open?" Airi asked.

"There was a powerful barrier around it, but we managed to get rid of it," Grimmjow reached for the shard, but a rusty sword smacked his hand away.

"Looks like we have some interesting people here…" said a scruffy, spiky haired soul reaper.

"Captain class," muttered Grimmjow. Airi felt the enormous amount of power this one man carried.

"This won't be much fun," the captain said, "not one of you have enough power to fight me."

Grimmjow scowled, "Who do you think you are?"

"Kenpachi Zaraki, eleventh taicho of the gotei thirteen," the shinigami introduced himself, "I suggest the four of you come at me at once, if you want to have a chance."

Grimmjow charged at the captain without hesitation.

"What's he doing?" asked Airi, concerned.

"Buying us time; get the shard!" shouted Il-fort as he joined Grimmjow, leaving D-Roy and Airi to grab the oddly floating shard. They sped off towards it and reached it at the same time, almost placing their hands on it. Suddenly, Yumichika and another soul reaper, who was bald, showed up, swords pointed at Airi and D-Roy's backs.

"You won't be getting that anytime soon…" Yumichika stated.

"Say good-by as Ikkaku Madarame takes your lives!" the bald one exclaimed. Airi and D-Roy quickly drew their swords and flash stepped a short distance away from the soul reapers.

Meanwhile Grimmjow, along with Ilfort, were battling Captain Zezaki. This soul reaper's spiritual pressure… it's almost as strong as Aizen's, thought Grimmjow. "Hurry up and get that shard, Ilfort! Or go help the others! This shinigami's mine," He ordered.

Ilfort quickly obeyed and went to help Airi and D-Roy.

"So you want to take this one on one? That's no fun! I wanted you four to take me on at once, but I you'll have to do and I'll make sure my squad leaves the others for me when I'm done with you!" Kenpachi exclaimed. Grimmjow stretched out his arms, reading for the battle.

"Well then, it doesn't matter what level you are; you're still a soul reaper and that means I can destroy you!" Grimmjow charged again.

Watching the camera, Zezuri stared at the screen, still seeing Airi's point of view. Worried and troubled, Zezuri gripped the control desk hoping Airi would be all right.

Airi doubled back, trying frantically to reach the shard. Why am I so intent on getting this object? She wondered, I should be more worried about my own life!

Ikkaku suddenly flash-stepped in front of her, "Going somewhere?" he asked, Airi attacked him without hesitation, sensing that Ilfort was approaching the shard. D-Roy was locked in combat with the other shinigami. Ilfort was two feet away from the shard when a fourth shinigami appeared. She was short and had pink hair; overall, she looked like a four year old.

"What the… " Muttered Ilfort looking at the new foe.

"Kenny hasn't had his fun yet. You can't leave until he does." Ilfort attempted to get around the small girl, but she easily blocked his way. The four arracnar were caught in a checkmate. Each of the fighters were holding their own, some better than others.

"Hiyah!" yelled Airi, not too sure why, when shy landed a lucky blow. Taking hold of the moment, she launched herself over Ikkaku and grabbed the shard.

Four cracks open in the sky over each arrancar from which yellow beams of light appeared from. The other three arrancar stopped fighting and the shinigami backed off.

"What the?!" Zezuri said noticing the beams engulfing their comrades.

"They have the shard, it's time to bring them home," said Gin.

Airi and the others began to rise up into the sky and disappeared back into darkness of Hueco Mundo.

"Damn, they're getting away…" Kenpachi thought.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks so much for reading! Comments and reviews are greatly wanted!!


	17. Trashing The Town

**Bleached: Ep. 17**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are ours._

Note: Longest chapter ever... I just couldn't put a break in the action, so enjoy! -Airi

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The group quickly returned to Las Noches, staggering with wounds as they arrived. Zezuri was waiting for them in Aizen's throne room with the others. Airi staggered into the throne room, the shard in her hand. Zezuri rushed to her once Aizen signaled her to go to them. Before Zezuri began to heal Airi, Aizen spoke up.

"Zezuri, take the shard from Airi and bring it here," he ordered.

Zezuri looked at Airi's hand as she held it out to her. Zezuri took it and brought it to Aizen.

"You may go heal them now, I would like to see what you can do."

Zezuri obeyed and went back over to Airi and the others. Zezuri stepped back a little, then held her arms out in Airi's direction. A blue light engulfed Airi as her wounds began to heal. D-Roy and Ilfort weren't as bad and they healed with less effort. Then it was Grimmjow's turn. He was a little more beat up since he battled Kenpachi.

"I'm fine," Grimmjow said before Zezuri could heal him.

"But-" before Zezuri could finish her sentence, Grimmjow left the room.

--

After Aizen was done talking, everyone left the room. Airi and Zezuri walked along the hallway and stopped when they saw Grimmjow sitting on the floor, holding his shoulder in pain. Without thinking, Zezuri rushed up to him, "See, you're not fine!" You're hurt!" She pointed out.

"No, I'm fine!" he tried to make it look like he wasn't hurt, but blood was running down his arm and chest getting all over his jacket.

Airi was about to speak up until Aizen passed by, "Grimmjow, I suggest you let Zezuri heal you, you'll be going on the next mission too."

Grimmjow paused then moved his hand from his shoulder wound.

Zezuri slowly placed her hand near the wound and began to heal him.

Grimmjow calmed down and let her continue to heal his wound. He looked down at her face; she was concentrating and worried. Why? He thought, why is she worried? Why would someone care about a monster like she said I was?

--

A few days passed from the first mission. Aizen called a meeting soon after breakfast. "Grimmjow, tonight you are to find the second shard, it should be in downtown Shibuya district. You are to take Airi, Ilfort, Wonderwice, D-Roy and why don't you take Zezuri?"

"I don't need her, the others are enough," Grimmjow protested.

"I'm sure you can protect her, I insist, take her," Aizen's spiritual pressure rose and Grimmjow was forced to obey.

"Yes, Aizen…" muttered Grimmjow before leaving.

--

Grimmjow, Ilfort, D-Roy and Wonderwice stood in Airi and Zezrui's doorway a few hours later. "We have to go," ordered Grimmjow.

Airi got up and was ready to leave with them, but Grimmjow reluctantly waited in the doorway.

Zezuri stared at him wondering if he was going to leave. What's he staring at? She thought looking concerned.

"You're coming too, c'mon," Grimmjow ordered again.

Zezuri looked shocked for a moment as Grimmjow ordered her to follow again.

"Would you get off your butt? We have no time to waste."

Zezuri got up and followed him out. Zezuri leaned over to Airi. "I-I… I get to fight?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I guess so… be really careful, the guys we're fighting aren't pushovers…" Airi warned.

"But, I don't want to fight…" Zezuri murmured.

Airi looked at her friend, wondering why the heck Aizen would send her to the battlefield. No matter how she tried, Airi couldn't envision Zezuri holding her own in a fight; she didn't have a weapon, couldn't deflect the steel of a blade with her bare hands, and aside from the magic she knew, had no way of attacking. Airi shook her head in mild disgust with herself; here she was thinking how weak humans were… as if they were inferior. What's wrong with me? She wondered.

When the six-member group had assembled in an empty room, Grimmjow opened the portal to the human world. One after another, the group members entered the portal, until just Zezuri and Grimmjow remained.

Zezuri gazed at the portal in silence.

Grimmjow waited for her to enter.

"I… I can't…" Zerzuri was still in shock.

"Geez, it's not like we're going to make you charge in first. You should stay behind me, just to be safe…" Grimmjow muttered. He was only trying to say something to get her to move but he could still feel his face get warm.

Zezuri looked up at him, astonished. Did he just say he'd protect me? Wondered Zezuri. "But-but, I'll only hold you back, I-" Zezuri didn't know what to say.

"Would you just say 'okay' and get going? Geez, I said I'd keep you safe!"

"Am I interrupting something?" Luppi's voice shattered the moment.

Grimmjow sighed irritably, "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm not going to miss the fun this time; I'm coming with you guys," Luppi demanded.

"Fine, whatever! Just get in the portal, both of you!" Grimmjow flushed with embarrassment before they got in the portal.

Zezuri stepped through the portal glancing back at Grimmjow for a moment.

They stepped into the human world in the night sky of Japan. The scenery is so different, thought Zezuri. It was filled with buildings, street lamps and roads. It was civilization, something Zezuri hadn't seen in a while. As the portal began to close behind them, Zezuri noticed that she, still being human, couldn't stand in the air with the others. As she was about to fall, a hand grabbed hers and pulled her in close.

"Forgot you were still human…" Grimmjow muttered.

All of them then made for the ground, touching it with ease. Just as Zezuri tried to pull away from Grimmjow, he tightened his grip on her hand. A group of shinigami were standing right before them.

"We knew you'd show up again," a boy with white hair spoke.

Airi noticed that he was wearing a captain's robe, just like the strongest of the last group. Looking at the others, she recognized two familiar faces; Yumichika's and Ikkaku's. There was also a tall woman with amber hair; her uniform was left open, exposing a large portion of her chest. There was also a man with red hair and tattooed eyebrows standing next to a short woman with black hair and violet eyes that glared right at them.

"Does Aizen now kidnap random human girls?" the boy spoke again, looking at Zezuri.

The arrancar stayed silent. "I really don't like talking during a fight… it's a waste of time," said Grimmjow pushing Zezuri behind him. And with that, the other arrancar charged in, unleashing their fury as the soul reapers just as quickly unsheathed their swords. "Here comes one," Grimmjow announced as the white haired boy appeared in front of him. Grimmjow stopped the blade quickly with his hand, but it suddenly was coated in ice. While Grimmjow was wondering what happened to his hand, the boy used the hilt of his sword to jab Grimmjow in the face, knocking him over and leaving Zezuri open. Toshiro Hitsugaya, the boy, stood in front of Zezuri, he pointed his sword at her.

"Are you with them?" he asked.

Zezuri didn't know what to do, "I can't fail…" she muttered. "P-pale lightning!" she shouted sending a beam at Toshiro, he dodged it just in time.

"Fine, if that's how it is, I have no choice but to kill you." Hitusgaya was about to charge in when Grimmjow suddenly kicked him in the side, sending the captain flying.

"S-sorry… I was…" Zezuri said.

"No time for that! He's coming back!" Grimmjow warned.

--

Meanwhile, Airi and the others fought the remaining shinigami. Airi was facing Yumichika again.

"We didn't finish our last fight," he flipped his hair before he release his zanpakto.

Airi glared fiercely at him, "I'd rather not fight, you know,"

"Huh?"

"I don't know you, and don't understand why you expect me to want nothing more than to destroy you."

"It's simple," Yumichika explained, "you are an arrancar, I am a shinigami, we're supposed to be trying to destroy each other."

"But, why?"

"Hollows and shinigami are exact opposites, stop asking questions and fight!"

--

While Luppi and the other arrancar battled the remaining the other shinigami, Grimmjow continued his fierce battle with Toshiro Hitsugaya. All Zezuri could do was watch. What else could she do? She decided that next time she wouldn't miss. Zezuri watched carefully for an opening in order not to hit Grimmjow in the process. Focus, she thought. Then she remembered her training and the powerful spell Aizen had taught her. "Grimmjow I need them surrounded so that they're together!" Zezuri pointed out.

"What?" but there was no time for questions, so he forced the captain over to the where the other shinigami were fighting. Soon the arrancar had the shinigami surrounded.

"Oh black death, be sealed away! Hado number 90, black coffin!" Zezuri used a powerful spell on the shinigami, incasing them in a black box. The next thing she heard were the cries of pain. As the spell wore away, the shinigami were brutally wounded. All the arrancar stared amazed at what Zezuri had just cast. But the shinigami weren't about to give up.

Rukia, the black haired one, who also was good with kido, shot a spell right back at Zezuri. "Red flare cannon!" the spell hit Zezuri directly, causing an explosion.

Yumichika and Airi were once again locked in fierce combat. Airi noticed Yumichika seemed to have gotten a bit stronger since their last battle; she was struggling to block all of his blows.

Lots of smoke surrounded the area. "How does a human know a high level kido like that?" Toshiro thought before Grimmjow showed up again and kicked him the back. Grimmjow tried to look through the smoke for Zezuri. He caught a glimpse of her KO'd on the ground and pretty beat up before Renji attacked him. Grimmjow had to fiercely beat him off before he could get to Zezuri, which seemed to take forever.

--

Wonderwice watched them all battle for a while, then he suddenly felt the shard calling and ran off in that direction.

--

Luppi, Ilfort and D-Roy were busy fighting off Ikkaku in his bankai state and Rangiku. Hitsugaya regained consciousness and joined Renji in fighting Grimmjow. "End of the line," said Renji, also in bankai.

Grimmjow jumped back. "Not over till it's over kill," Grimmjow grabbed the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it. "Grind! Panthera!" suddenly there was another cloud of smoke, but as it cleared, there stood a creature where Grimmjow had been. "This is my released form," stated Grimmjow.

"His spiritual pressure just got ten times stronger!" Toshiro yelled.

Grimmjow charged in on all four legs. He was so quick; to the shinigami he was just a blue-white blur. Grimmjow clawed insanely at Renji, then leaped into the air and shot Toshiro with a blow from his fingertips. Once he was sure that they were down, he flashed over to Zezuri's side. The explosions had damaged her more. "Damn it! I said I would keep her safe!" Grimmjow thought with frustration. He picked her up and set her down out of the way. "I won't mess up next time," he promised. Grimmjow saw how bruised and cut up she was, then turned his focus to the other remaining shinigami glaring with rage.

--

Normally shinigami fought one on one battles, but tonight was an exception. After relaying some messages back to soul society, Rukia rejoined the fight, this time alongside Yumichika, who was fighting Airi. "Rukia, back off, I've got this one," ordered Yumichika.

"I can't, the general commander's orders have changed. We must destroy all the arrancar as soon as possible."

Yumichika stopped protesting, "This is so not beautiful," he muttered, then glanced up at Airi, standing six feet above him in the air.

She'd grown accustomed to this new ability quite quickly, only a few times when she looked down did she have to remind herself that she wasn't about to fall. The two shinigami attacked at once from both sides, Airi managed to block Yumichika's sword, but Rukia scored a major slash through Airi's thigh. She cried out in pain. What had she ever done to deserve this?

The female shinigami started to recite an incantation.

--

At this moment Grimmjow was fighting Toshiro again, while the others fought the remaining shinigami; overall the arrancar had the upper hand, until Kurosaki Ichigo appeared. The orange-haired shinigami was late because Shibuya and Karakura weren't exactly close to each other. The added force of the duty soul reaper quickly reversed the tide of the battle.

--

Yumichika had held Airi at bay while Rukia finished her spell, "Hado 61!, binding light!" Airi moved out of the way, barely escaping the five pillars of light that clutched the air where she had been moment s before. Yumichika came in for another blow.

"Release me!" something yelled inside Airi's mind. Airi blocked the blow, sparks flew from the ferocity of the attack, but they intensified as Airi summoned up all the power she could. "Eleczetta," she yelled, the name suddenly coming to her mind. Wings similar to those of a bat's with yellow veins sprouted from Airi's back and spread out 7 feet (213.36cm) from end to end. Her mask now covered more of her head and the same material covered her arms and hands forming three sharp talons at the end of each.

Yumichika and Rukia stared in shock one moment and were over it the next. The two shinigami attacked in unison, but Airi was faster now. Slashing out, she sent Rukia flying into the ground, where she landed quite hard. This of course called Ichigo's attention and soon he and Yumichika had traded battles.

"Who are you?" yelled Ichigo at Airi, already in his bankai.

Airi didn't get a chance to answer; Ichigo had attacked at the same time. Waves of electricity surged from Airi's wings as she attempted to deflect him.

--

Meanwhile, Grimmjow had gone from fighting Toshiro Hitsugaya, to fighting the captain as well as his lieutenant. He had to leave Zezuri on a rooftop of which he now guarded. Unable to do much more than attack when the shinigami got close, Grimmjow was getting irritated. Hasn't that kid found the shard yet? He thought.

--

Wonderwice had indeed found the shard, but was distracted from his original goal to grab it. Instead he sat in the air, staring at the shining fragment of the raz-de-mer-de-temps, admiring how it glistened in the glow from the streets below. "Shiny…" he said as he slowly reached for it.

--

Airi was no longer holding her own against Kurosaki. Even with her newfound power, he easily over powered her. She realized that at this rate she had no hope for survival as she was slammed into an elevated tramway bridge. Airi remembered hearing rumors about the orange haired shinigami around Las Noches; apparently Aizen feared his potential power and for good reason. Deep gashes ran all over Airi's tattered body, her new wings sported large cuts and many bruises. Ichigo's next blow connected in the deep gash Rukia had made earlier. Pain almost as severe as when Airi had been 'changed' surged through her. "Aaagh!" she screamed as her released form crumbled and she fell the forty feet (57.6m) to the hard pavement of the road. Airi let out a small groan, but was unable to move; many things felt broken. She looked around as best she could, searching with her eyes for the shinigami to come finish her off. Instead she heard him land on the ground and run in the opposite direction of her injured body.

"Rukia!" he shouted, "Are you all right?"

"I'm… fine," came a slow response. Airi was glad, even though the older woman had every intention of destroying her; she was relived to know she was still alive. "Ichigo, I'll be alright, now go!" Rukia suddenly yelled at Ichigo.

Airi heard his footsteps drawing near to her location.

Ichigo looked down on his opponent; she was much more human-like than the other arrancars he'd seen, but Ichigo really had little knowledge of arrancars. All he really felt he needed to know was how to defeat them.

"Will… she, the shini... gami... be okay?" Airi spoke despite the amount of pain she was in.

Ichigo jumped back in surprise; he hadn't expected this at all.

"Well?" Airi's voice was just above a whisper and all she could manage.

Ichigo recovered from shock, "Rukia, yeah, she's just a little bruised."

"…Good, I… didn't want to… fight her… in the… first place," Airi managed.

"Ichigo!" shouted Rukia, "remember your orders."

If Airi had possessed enough energy to gulp she would have.

"Wait, Rukia, I don't think she's a true enemy…" started Ichigo.

"Fine, I'll do it," Rukia was heard staggering to her feet using her sword to pull herself up. The second shinigami approached Airi.

But, before she could get any closer, both Ichigo and Rukia jumped back as a green cero blast was quickly fired at them. Airi managed to look up and see Ulquiorra standing beside her.

Both Grimmjow and the two shinigami he was fighting turned their attention to the powerful arrancar who decided to join the battle.

"His spiritual pressure is stronger than any of the others here!" Ichigo tried to regain his stance.

Wonderwice suddenly appeared next to Ulquiorra, shard in hand.

Grimmjow took this chance to grab Zezuri and flash stepped over to Ulquiorra, as did the other arrancar.

"Seems you lose again," Said Ulquiorra as he took the shard from Wonderwice and placing it in his pocket. He then picked up Airi as the yellow beams of light rained down upon the group.

The shinigami could do nothing but watch as the arrancar disappeared with the light into the night.

**To be continued...**

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Thanks for reading!! Comments? Reviews? Please?


	18. An Interlude of Another Sort

**Bleached: Ep. 18**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are ours._

_Note: Sorry it's taking me so long to update. Warning, this chapter gets a little more than normal romance. -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri regained consciousness and realized she was being carried on Grimmjow's back, whom was back in human form by then. "W-what happened?" were the first words out of her mouth when she woke up.

"We couldn't beat them, but Wonderwice managed to get the shard," he answered.

"Is Airi okay?" she asked.

"Well, she battled with some really powerful shinigami, but if it wasn't for Ulquiorra…"

Zezuri froze.

"She's okay," Grimmjow reassured her.

Zezuri managed to relax again.

They returned to her cell and as Grimmjow put her down she noticed Airi unconscious on her bed. Zezuri quickly ran over and began to heal her.

Grimmjow watched as if he were trying to fight out a puzzle. He was so confused at how Zezuri managed to care so much for other people. With that, he left the room in silence.

The damage Airi had taken was extensive; a few of her ribs were broken, her right shoulder was heavily bruised and slightly fractured, and a deep gash still leaked blood on her side. Her white uniform was torn and now more red than white. Zezuri now wondered why no one seemed concerned about Airi's condition, her wounds seemed quite severe, still she wouldn't give up. Focusing all of her power on Airi's wounds, Zezuri continued to heal he friend. It was slow going, but she kept at it.

The fourth espada showed up after a few minutes of Grimmjow's departure. He had brought with him a new outfit for Airi, since hers was quite damaged. His green eyes lingered on Airi's damaged form.

"He cares?" Zezuri wondered, "about Airi?" She had seen the gloomy espada always leading her friend around, but never thought he felt anymore for her than duty. Was she imagining this?

Zezuri finished healing Airi. After her hard work was done she decided to take a walk. She couldn't think by sitting there, she needed to clear her mind by walking down the empty hallways. While she was walking along, she passed by a room where she suddenly recognized Gin, Aizen, and Tosen's voices all in conversation. Zezuri hid herself by the doorway to listen in on them.

"So, where are the other two shards, Aizen?" asked Gin.

"The third one is located in Japan again, the fourth one…" Zezuri was waiting for Aizen to say it, but she was suddenly pulled aside by two arrancar she only briefly knew in passing.

"Well, well, human, don't have your protector here with you?" the female taunted.

"I… um.." she was suddenly grabbed by the neck by the male arrancar.

"Walking around like you own the place? You think you're special? You're just a lowly, pathetic human," he spat.

Zezuri struggled to breathe as she tried to get out of his tight grip.

The male arrancar was suddenly disintegrated by a red cero blast.

The female backed off and ran.

Zezuri fell to the ground, trying to regain normal breathing.

"Geez, they never learn," Grimmjow sighed. "Told you it wasn't safe to come out here alone," Grimmjow stated.

Zezuri couldn't speak since she almost had her neck broken.

"C'mon, let's get you back to your cell," he ordered, pulling her to her feet.

Zezuri noticed that something was bothering him, but she was afraid to ask.

They finally got back to the cell, where Airi was still out cold. Before Zezuri entered, she stopped suddenly, getting the courage to say something. "…Are you okay?" she turned to face him.

"Dork, I'm fine. Now go to bed!" he ordered. Zezuri was unconvinced.

"No… something feels wrong!" she shook her head.

"Would you knock it off!?"

"Please! Tell me!"

Grimmjow held her by her shoulders and slammed her into the wall. "Shut up! Just shut up! Why?! Why do you want to know so badly? You answer me something! Why do you care!? Aren't I a monster to you?! Why is it that every time you're around I go out of my mind!? Why do I put my life on the line for you?!" he yelled to her face.

It got very quiet as he gazed at her terrified face.

He let go and sank to the ground. "I- I don't know what I'm doing anymore…" he sighed.

Small pools of tears developed on the ground. Zezuri tried to wipe away her tears, "I-I don't know… it's the same reason why you choose to protect me… I don't know what I'm doing…" she slid down the wall, curling her knees toward her, hugging them and burying her face into her arms. "But… if you want me to leave you alone, I will. I-I'll stoop bothering you. You don't have to look at me, just treat me like the rest do, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to make you angry," she sobbed.

Grimmjow looked at her in silence before moving closer to her. He didn't know what to say anymore. "No, I didn't tell you to stop, just… don't stop… you made me feel… I'm not supposed to feel, I'm hollow, but I can… the only think I knew was rage and how to kill, but I don't know what this is…"

Zezuri stopped crying as she listened to his confused words. She knew what he was trying to say; he was talking about love.

"When you got kicked out… I felt more empty…" he took her hand and placed it on his chest. "It's still empty, but, it doesn't feel that way," he explained. "I know you want to go home, but I don't know what to do if you left. I wouldn't have anything to protect…"

Zezuri smiled, her face turning pink.

Grimmjow had never seen her smile; he was amazed at how beautiful she looked when she smiled. So much that he smiled a little too. "Dork, you don't have to cry all the time…" he wiped some tears from her eyes.

Zezuri stopped his hand and rested it on her cheek. "I can't leave… I would never leave without Airi… and now…" she paused.

Grimmjow gave himself over to what he was feeling and kissed her head.

She looked up at him a little nervous. She searched his eyes as he gazed into her still tear-filled ones. He went to lean in but she looked away, very embarrassed. She couldn't tell what was going on, only focused on the loud beating nose her heat made as it got faster. He didn't give up and he turned her head to face his as he leaned in again. His lips lightly touched hers slowly, as she leaned into the kiss. Zezuri wrapped her arms around his neck. Grimmjow broke the kiss as he pulled her into him and embraced her with one arm and stroked her hair with his free hand. Zezuri felt so safe with him as she nuzzled her face into his chest.

"Wow, this time I am really interrupting something!" Luppi stated, again interrupting them.

"We fell this time, you idiot!" Grimmjow covered up, but his face was very red, as well as Zezuri's as they stood up. "G-get in your cell!" Grimmjow pushed her in and glared at Luppi, not noticing that when he shoved Zezuri she had face-planted into the floor.

Luppi giggled. "Geez lover-boy, rough much?"

Grimmjow made a sudden movement that chased Luppi away.

--

Airi woke hours later in her empty room. She sat up slowly feeling quite sore. "Wait, how did I get here?" she muttered, putting her right arm to her head. Airi couldn't remember anything after Rukia's approach, but a vague memory of a familiar power lingered in the corners of her mind. "Wait, wasn't my arm broken and lots of other things?" She got up off her bed to discover she still hurt, quite badly, but it was a tolerable level. Just sore from fighting, she concluded mentally. Airi examined her condition; nothing was broken, weird, and the gash she had received in her side was gone without a trace. She might not have believed she had been in a fight, save for her outfit; scorch marks, rips, dirt, and bloodstains now decorated it in the I-just-got-shoved-into-a-subway look. Something white caught her attention; a new outfit lay on the corner of her bed.

--

Shortly after Airi changed, Zezuri returned to the room. "Airi! You're up!"

Airi nodded, "I'm pretty sure you healed me, but… just how beat up was I?" "Enough to be dead, but no one seemed to be all that concerned…"

"So, I'm that expendable?"

"I think it was more that, well… you're an… arrancar, and you can take more damage than a human."

Both girls winced on the word 'arrancar'.

"So, what happened after I passed out, did Wonderwice ever get the shard?" Airi changed the topic the best she could.

"He did, but Ulquiorra had to go get him, Wonderwice was too busy admiring it."

"Wait, Ulquiorra, he wasn't in our group though."

"No, he wasn't."

"Then, why was he there?"

"Following Aizen-sama's orders." Airi and Zezuri jumped in surprise, neither one of them had noticed the 4th espada's entrance. "Aizen-sama told me to keep an eye on you and the rest of the group."

Zezuri stared at the ground. Wait, if he's supposed to keep an eye on us, did he see earlier!? Wondered Zezuri, turning red.

"Something wrong?" asked Ulquiorra.

"N-nothing." Zezuri replied quickly, but nervously. I don't think he did, she thought again.

"I suggest you go to sleep, we'll be going again in a few days," he said.

"Right," Zezuri got into bed and quickly fell asleep, not knowing how tired she was from healing everyone.

Airi sat down on her bed, but knew there was no point in trying to sleep; after all, she'd just woken up. After a few minutes of sitting and thinking, Airi decided to take a walk.

Through the gray hallways she walked aimlessly, it seemed Airi's feet knew were she was headed more than she herself did. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be wandering around by herself, but really didn't care at the moment. Airi was frustrated, no one had told her what had happened after she'd passed out, not that anyone told her anything in the first place. As much as her captors tried, they failed to convince her there was no place for her to go other than here. They were using her and Zezuri and Airi was fully aware of it. She just didn't know what to do. She thought back to the last mission, replaying what she could remember in her mind. The orange-haired shingami, his name escaped her, when she had asked him if his partner was okay, he had lost all of his will to destroy her. But the other shinigami hadn't; why was he so different? This confused Airi, she would have thought that… we… she wasn't sure anymore. The only things she did know were: one, she had to get Zezuri out of here, two, there was no way she herself could go home, and three, she was lost. Her deep pondering had caused her to lose track of how far she'd walked. Airi looked down the hallways in front of her and behind her, realizing that she'd never been in this part of Las Noches before. "Darn… I'm lost…" Airi thought. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. Airi whirled around to see Aizen and Ulquiorra.

"I see you're well, Zezuri must be getting stronger since some of your injuries were considered to be quite bad," Aizen explained.

"Although, she was quite tired last I saw her," said Ulquiorra, "She should be trained more…"

Airi got frustrated at Ulquiorra and Aizen have a conversation about her and Zezuri in front of her. "What are we to you? Dogs?! You're training us to kill!" Airi spat.

"Hmmm… I guess you could put it that way," Aizen said.

Airi became even more frustrated at the fact it was true.

"Why don't you follow us, Airi? I have something I want to show you…" ordered Aizen.

Airi looked at Aizen, then Ulquiorra, and decided she had nothing better to do. Maybe she could get some answers.

Aizen brought them to the room where the Hougyoku was kept and near it, the first two shards they had collected. Aizen walked over to the shards and gazed at them. "These, when put together, can be considered stronger than the Hougyoku itself. But instead of creating things, it can destroy the very matter of space. The destructive power is infinite; the shinigami fear this and it's just what I want," he explained. "I'll be sending you off again for the third one sometime soon…" continued Aizen.

"What about the fourth one Aizen-sama?" asked Ulquiorra.

"Couldn't we send out 2 two groups and get the shards at the same time?"

"That won't be necessary, the fourth shard is tightly sealed away, just leave the fourth to me." Aizen said, and with that he motioned Ulquiorra to take Airi back to her cell.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review, comment, or something!


	19. Calm Before the Storm

**Bleached: Ep. 19**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. We do own Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Short chapter, sorry, it was the best spot for a break. The next chapter is much better than this one... it was kind of a slow spot. -Airi_

* * *

The next day, well, you couldn't tell if it was day, but when Zezuri woke up, Airi was back in bed. Zezuri rubbed at her eyes then stretched as she got up. She glanced over at Airi who was sleeping deeply and decided not to wake her friend. Quietly she exited the room and went to breakfast a bit on the early side.

Zezuri sat down at the table next to Grimmjow, "G-good morning," she managed through a deep blush.

Grimmjow grunted a response; clearly not 100 awake yet. More of the espada came and seated themselves around the table.

Airi entered a few minutes later with Ulquiorra, who had rudely woken her up and insisted she get to breakfast. Needless to say, she wasn't in a good mood, but she quickly concealed that fact when she saw Zezuri talking with Grimmjow. Airi glanced from one to the other, came to a conclusion and grimaced; a sudden complication in her plans to get Zezuri out of here was now evident.

Luppi glared at the two from across the table, losing his appetite to eat.

"What's the matter, Luppi?" Asked Stark.

"Would you look closely? It's disgusting!" Luppi sneered.

"They're getting along and it's cute to see him acting like a good boy," Stark teased.

Grimmjow overheard them and threw his fork at Stark.

Zezuri realized they were being overheard and turned back to her food only to notice Halibel, the second Espada, sitting next to her. The was the first time Zezuri ever really noticed her and sitting in between her and Grimmjow's spiritual pressure made her feel dizzy. She tried to focus on eating and what the other arrancar were talking about. Right next to Luppi was Syazel who got up to talk with Aizen privately. Tosen remained silent while eating and Gin waved at Zezuri with a smile as he noticed her looking around. She waved back nervously. She then noticed Airi sitting with Ulquiorra. So he must of woken her up… something is strange about him… she thought.

--

Soon breakfast was over and everyone went back to what they normally did, until, "Zezuri, I need to borrow you for awhile…" said Aizen, most likely for training.

Grimmjow and Zezuri traded worried glances.

Airi wondered if he was going to tell her everything he said last night.

"It's just more training, don't worry," and with that, Aizen led her out of the room, leaving Grimmjow and Airi.

Airi looked at Grimmjow, eyes narrowed. "Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Phe, no…" Grimmjow replied shortly.

Airi was unconvinced. "Fine, hide it as long as you want, I know you two like each other, you're both terrible at hiding your emotions," Airi was about to storm off, it seemed everyone was hiding things from her now.

"Airi," it was Syazel who spoke. Airi stopped, mid-stride and looked at the eighth espada. "Aizen-sama wishes for me to train you today. Though I don't know why, I'm not much good at combat."

Airi came to the sudden conclusion that today wasn't going to be a good day.

--

"Now that I've taught you Hado 90, you've become very powerful, but your aim is very… inaccurate," Aizen explained.

Zezuri remained silent.

"But I see Grimmjow has been doing good at watching over you. You must have become… close."

Zezuri froze.

"But, that's not why I called you here. Let's begin." A few lights flipped on as a few targets popped out of the ground, but this time the targets fired out kido and attacked back.

--

Zezuri's training didn't last long; she soon returned back at the cell and absolutely no one was there. "Where's Airi?" she thought, even Grimmjow was gone. She sat on the floor, leaning on the doorway. "Airi doesn't seem like she's been doing too good… I hope they aren't torturing her anymore."

Then, looming over her was Stark. "Zezuri, we need you to heal Nnoitora. Could you come with me?" Zezuri stared in shock, she was being asked to do something, not being ordered directly.

"Uh… Okay," She followed the first espada to an outside-enclosed area with a fake blue sky above.

Nnoitora, the fifth espada, was sitting against the wall, beaten up, but nothing serious. Zezuri healed him as he and Stark had a brief conversation.

"Why did you even challenge her in the first place?" Stark shook his head.

"I needed a fight; I was bored, I don't do much around here," complained Nnoitora.

"Still, challenging the second espada, isn't there someone less dangerous?" Even Stark feared Halibel, even though she was ranked under him; that woman was scary.

--

Meanwhile, Airi was training with Syazel. It was just the usual training in a hollow filled room. After defeating them all in a certain amount of time, Syazel really didn't know what to do with Airi.

--

Zezuri finished healing Nnoitora and he left without a thank you, just a sneer. "Don't mind him," Stark tried to reassure her. He seemed much kinder than the other espada.

"There you are," a voice said behind them. It was Grimmjow looking for her.

"They asked me to heal someone…" Zezuri explained.

"I'll just be going then," Stark walked away.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Comment or something please!


	20. Turning the Tide

**Bleached: Ep. 20**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are ours._

_Note: WOO HOO! 20 Chapters!! Go us! And go you! For reading this far we must be doing good! This part is like where a new season would start, you'll see what we mean by that! -Airi_

* * *

Two days later found Grimmjow's group assembled in front of a portal. There were seven members of the group total; Grimmjow, Zezuri, Airi, D-Roy, Ilfort, Luppi, and Wonderwice. They entered the portal and emerged into a darkening sky. The sun was setting in Karakura town when the six arrancar and one human emerged from the portal. They immediately flew down to the ground, Grimmjow carrying Zezuri, of the main street in town. None of the people seemed to notice Zezuri; her outfit had special powers that made her invisible to normal humans.

"So, where's the shard, I don't sense it," asked Luppi.

Wonderwice looked like he was torn between going in completely opposite directions.

"Looks like the shinigami are on to us," muttered Grimmjow. "Split up!" he ordered. "D-Roy, you Luppi, Ilfort and Wonderwice take that direction," he pointed East. "I'll take Airi and Zezuri that way," he pointed again, this time to the West. "Move fast, the shinigami know we're here.

They dashed off in said directions. Grimmjow seemed to be able to sense something, although he wasn't sure it was the shard. Suddenly, Ichigo showed up, already in Bankai and with shinigami back up. Ichigo launched a blast from his zanpakto as soon as he saw Grimmjow.

"Wait! He has that human with him!" warned Toshiro, but it was too late and Grimmjow couldn't dodge the blast. Grimmjow lost hold of Zezuri. She fell towards the ground but the red haired shinigami caught her in mid air.

"N-no! Let go!" she protested.

"Let go? I'm saving you!"

"No! I don't want to be saved!" she squirmed.

"Somehow Aizen is controlling her!" Renji shouted to Ichigo.

Zezuri wanted to know what kind of idiot this was. "No! Let me go! I'm not being controlled!"

Suddenly Grimmjow punched Renji in the face and he was forced to let go of Zezuri. Grimmjow grabbed her as he growled deeply at Renji. This frightened Zezuri a little. She knew it felt nice to belong to someone, but now she was felling like dead weight being tossed around; in other words, useless.

"Wait, let me fight," she said.

"But," Grimmjow couldn't find anything to say.

"Zezuri, we can do this…" Airi said not wanting her friend to get hurt.

Zezuri just looked at the shinigami. "No… I need to fight this time… I can do this…" Grimmjow and Airi had a hard time trying to believe she'd be okay, but they had no choice. "Six bars of light!" Zezuri incased Renji with a sudden flash of light as he became held in place. "Pale lightning!" Zezuri fired off a second attack and pierced Renji through the arm. Zezuri trembled. "I… I can't … I missed on purpose… I can't kill…" she thought frantically. "They're no different from me… they're probably fighting to protect the people they love too…"

Grimmjow launched himself at Ichigo, who countered with equal ferocity. Although it was only a three on three battle at the moment, Grimmjow's small group was easily over powered. Grimmjow knew he could take out any single one of the three shinigami, but only one at a time. Airi might have a chance against the redhead, but Zezuri, she was close to useless, why was Aizen so insistent that she came along? Still, this was odd, Grimmjow thought, and only three shinigami? He didn't sense anymore of them, was this some sort of trap?

--

Airi was fighting Hitsugaya, but at a clear disadvantage. The captain blocked all of her blows with ease and landed most of his.

--

Zezuri and Renji weren't really fighting as much as they were having a staring contest.

--

Suddenly, Hitsugaya broke away from Airi, grabbed his communicator, and shouted "NOW!" As if falling out of thin air, two entire divisions of shinigami attacked at once.

Before Airi figured out what was happening, three ninja-like figures attempted to run her through. She managed to block them, but another wave came; quickly she released her sword and blocked a second and third wave with some shock waves. Airi was only pushing the shinigami back from herself, not destroying them, fully aware that eventually they would overwhelm her.

--

Grimmjow hadn't released his sword; these punks were no match for his power, he looked around at the battle; Airi was struggling to defeat the ones that attacked her. What a fool, he thought, she should kill them, not knock them back. Then he looked for Zezuri… where was she? And where was that redhead shinigami? Feeling full of rage, Grimmjow also released his sword and clawed his way though the crowd, still no Zezuri. "Going somewhere?" Kenpachi challenged him, suddenly appearing behind him.

--

Airi was at her limits, and fully aware of it. No matter how she attacked she couldn't discourage any of her attackers. Without warning, another figure launched a powerful attack from above her. Airi was too busy to notice the attack of the second captain, until Soi-Fon's blow hit her in the back of her head. Airi fell, unconscious, possibly one hundred feet (30.48m) to the ground. Upon impact her released form dissipated once more.

"Take her prisoner," commanded Soi-Fon.

Four of her squad members flew to the ground and retrieved the fallen arrancar.

The commander of the secret forces looked over to Kenpachi and Grimmjow's battle. The espada was wearing out quickly, not accustomed to fighting with so much emotion. On the other hand Kenpachi was just warming up. Soi-Fon knew this was all in the bag, so she and her squad vanished through the gates of soul society, taking Airi with them.

--

Zezuri woke up after a few minutes from being knocked out by a random soul reaper. She found herself being carried off by the redhead; Renji. "H-hey!" Zezuri squirmed.

"I'm taking you to the soul society, calm down."

"No! Let me go! What did you do to the others?!"

"Look, I'm not gonna hurt you. Would you calm down!? I don't know what happened to your companions…"

Zezuri was of course in tears by this time.

"You gave me quite a wound, how did you learn kido like that?"

Zezuri decided to stop talking and not answer him.

"Hmph… whatever…"

--

Grimmjow was out of energy, and very frustrated. Kenpachi quickly wore him out and soon Grimmjow collapsed.

"Let's take this one too, 2nd division's prison is large enough," ordered Toshiro. "Careful, there are still more around," he ordered the rest of the shinigami.

--

Luppi and the others quickly fled before any of the shinigami could reach them. "Grimmjow, you're pathetic…" Luppi watched from the safety of the open part of sky before vanishing back to Hueco Mundo.

--

As Toshiro's squad retrieved the fallen espada, a green blast of cero went by Hitsugaya's head. Ulquiorra, the fourth espada, had rushed to the battle as soon as he felt Airi's presence vanish. Never before had he failed a mission; he wasn't about to start now. Aizen-sama would not be pleased with him, after all he had specifically told him to protect the former human. Sensing the danger they were in, Hitsugaya signaled his squad to take Grimmjow and go.

"Matsumoto, call for back-up!" Hitsugaya yelled to his lieutenant as he charged at Ulquiorra. Thirteenth division answered the call. Ulquiorra soon found himself fighting Ichigo, Toshiro, and Jushiro all at once. His face retained his usual glare as he fought all three of them with his bare hands. The fight was even, until Yourichi showed up. The shinigami now had a slight advantage.

--

Meanwhile, Renji and Zezuri had arrived in the seireitei. "You'll be staying in my squad, that's number six, for awhile." He led her to a large office, in which a man with black hair pulled at odd angles sat behind a lone desk in the otherwise empty room. "Taicho!" Renji greeted the man with a quick bow, "I've brought… uh, what's your name?" Renji asked Zezuri.

"…Zezuri," she said quietly.

Byakuya looked the girl over, she looked ordinary, save for her white outfit; it was quite a contrast compared to the black of Renji's uniform.

A few hours passed and Zezuri was now finished with Renji's tour of sixth division; the design of the place was quite simple, she wouldn't have to worry about getting lost here. "…And here's your room," Renji said sliding the door open. It was a small, simple room that currently hadn't been in use. A bed lay on the floor in the middle, surrounded by tatami mats. "Sorry, there's not much there, but I'm hoping it'll do," Renji was sincere in his apology. "I'll go find you a better outfit, so you'll fit in better." And with that he walked off leaving Zezuri in her new room.

* * *

Thanks so much for reading all the way to chapter 20!! You rock! Comments? Reviews? Something? Please?


	21. Wooden Floors and Tiled Roofs

**Bleached: Ep. 21**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Well... I really don't have much to say this time... Other than Zezuri gets most of the glory for awhile. Haha... -Airi_

* * *

Airi slowly came to, waking up to realize that she was on a wooden floor, a really clean floor, so clean she could see her reflection in it. Her reflection scared her, Airi's face was covered in scratches and bruises while dirt along with blood were smeared across her face, stuck in her hair and on her mask. She attempted to sit up, but pain shot through her. Something was defiantly broken. What had happened and where she was, Airi knew not. Being as her condition was quite bad, she assumed Zezuri was M.I.A. (missing in action) or worse. She went back to staring at the floor and the cold stone wall in front of her face. Was she in Las Noches? No, they didn't have wooden floors as far as she knew.

"Airi?" came a familiar voice.

"Gimmjow?"

"Yeah," he sounded upset.

"Where are we?"

"In soul society's prison, or one of many," Grimmjow was in the cell across from Airi's but she couldn't tell that.

"Is Zezuri here too?"

"No," Grimmjow's response made him sound more depressed than Ulquiorra ever managed. Grimmjow was sulking, Airi was sure of it even though all she could see was the wall in front of her face.

--

Renji came back with a new change of clothing for Zezuri. It was a plain, lightweight, pink kimono with a navy blue wrap. Zezuri, surprised, took the kimono with a bow. These soul reapers seemed nicer than the arrancar so far. "Ummm…. I'll let you change…" he quickly shut the door.

As Zezuri began to change, many thoughts went through her mind. Where was Airi? Is she okay? What about Grimmjow? Where was Ulquiorra? Why didn't Aizen do something? Overwhelmed with questions, she sank to the floor and sobbed.

Renji over heard her and open the door. He really didn't know what to do. "Hey, wanna get some fresh air?" he asked and led her outside. There were dozen of cherry blossoms in bloom.

Zezuri was in awe of the beautiful scenery. The sky had never bee so blue to her, perhaps because her eyes had adjusted to Hueco Mundo's night sky. She only wished Airi could see this, she wanted Airi to see the sky again and she wanted to make Grimmjow see it too.

"Hey, did something happen? You have puncture marks on your neck…" Renji noticed. Zezuri quickly moved her hand to cover it.

"I-it's nothing… it was from an explosion that's all…" She had almost forgotten about what Syazel had done to her and was surprised that the marks where still there. "Ummm… Renji, was it? What happened to the others?" she asked.

"Well, we captured two of 'em, the others got away…"

"Who did you kidnap?"

"Uhh… I don't know," Renji wasn't sure because the only one he had 'kidnapped' was Zezuri.

"Can I go see them?" she asked.

"I don't know, you'd have to get permission from the head captain."

"Can I ask a favor?"

"Ummm… I guess?"

"Take me to the head captain," she said bluntly.

"W-what?! I can't do that, I'm only a lieutenant!" the soul reaper found himself totally off guard at that request. "I'm sorry…" he said, bowing his head.

Zezuri understood, "Can't we ask your captain?"

"Uh…" Renji didn't like to ask any favors of his captain. "Well… I guess we could… try." Renji found himself speaking the words before he had engaged his brain.

--

"Taicho… uh… Miss Zezuri requests to see the two arrancar we captured, w-would that be possible?" Renji asked his captain, half expecting to be killed on the spot.

"I'm afraid that's not something I can grant permission for, Zezuri. The special forces, second division are holding them in their prison," Byakuya continued writing his report. "May I ask why you wish to see them?" The captain looked Zezuri directly in the eyes.

"I… I wanted to know what ones you got…" Zezuri wasn't sure she should tell this new "captor" of sorts the truth.

Byakuya, however, could sense that Zezuri wasn't telling all of her reasons. "I'll see if I can get you permission to see them," Byakuya said after a moment.

"Renji,"

"Yes, sir?"

"Take this message to Soi-Fon and tell her I would like a quick response."

Renji took the piece of paper from his captain and left with a flash-step, leaving Zezuri and Byakuya in the office. Zezuri stood there silently, staring at the floor.

"You have other reasons to see them, which make me have less trust in you than I originally did…" Byakuya stated.

"I-I…" before she could speak again, Renji returned with a response.

"Taicho, Captain Soi-Fon responded," he announced handing Byakuya the letter.

He remained silent while reading. Renji wanted to know what it said, as well as Zezuri. Byakuya finished and handed it to them. Zezuri took it and her and Renji read it. Zezuri almost dropped the letter.

"They didn't give you much time but you get to see them," Renji stated. Zezuri looked up at Byakuya as if asking to leave right away.

"Take Renji with you…" Byakuya sighed.

Zezuri rushed out of the room, but as she opened the door, being the clumsy person she was, slipped out the door, falling on her face.

Renji sighed and pulled the clumsy girl to her feet gently. "Here, I'll carry you, since it's far enough for me to flash-step."

Zezuri nodded and let Renji pick her up.

--

Zezuri watched the scenery flash by as Renji carried her from 6th division to 2nd division. Buildings of ancient Japan-style flew by beneath them, trees were in full bloom in courtyards; clearly it was summer. Suddenly, she felt more homesick than ever and started to sob on Renji.

"Why do all the girls cry on me?" He wondered.

--

When they arrived at second division headquarters, Renji put Zezuri down. She wiped away the rest of her tears as she apologized to the shinigami for crying on him. He slid open the door to the main office.

"You're quite slow," was their greeting from a short ninja-clad woman.

"Sorry, Soi-Fon taicho," Renji apologized, but Soi-Fon was already walking off. Zezuri and Renji followed.

"I don't understand why it is you want to see these two, but I don't see the harm in your request. However, I can't take you to see them for… certain issues," stated the ninja-leader, knowing full well of the kido Zezuri could use. She wasn't about to risk a jailbreak, especially since one of the prisoners was an espada. Soi-Fon led Zezuri to a computer-like screen that monitored the prison cells. Pressing a few buttons, the second taicho made the screen split into two parts.

"Grimmjow!" gasped Zezuri almost unable to believe the mighty blue-haired espada could have been defeated. He had his back to the camera, but Zezuri could tell he was injured quite badly. The way he was sitting suggested he was sulking; something Grimmjow never did. Zezuri held back her tears to the best of her ability. She felt so useless; some one needed to heal Grimmjow, but she knew Soi-Fon wouldn't let her.

The ninja-captain pressed a few more buttons to change the screens again. Zezuri gasped at the image on the screen. It was Airi this time. The wounds on her made Grimmjow's look like minor scratches.

"I-is she alive?" Zezuri asked Soi-Fon.

She nodded her response.

Airi wasn't moving, but then it didn't look like she could; large cuts covered her from head to toe, most of which were still bleeding, thought lightly now. Airi's right arm lay at an odd angle, soaked in her own blood. The overall sight was gruesome, and Zezuri found herself unable to withhold her tears anymore.

"Renji… why don't you take her away from here," ordered Soi-Fon, getting annoyed; she was puzzled as to why this girl cared so much for these monsters that had kidnapped and tortured her.

Renji followed his orders; in a swift motion he scooped Zezuri up and had flash-stepped outside before she knew what had happened. "Uh, cheer up, think on the bright side, they're alive," the sixth fuku-taicho had never been good with words and he knew this wasn't helping, nonetheless h felt as if he had to say something to the sobbing girl.

Zezuri's only response was more sobs into his shirt.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to console her, Renji took Zezuri back to her room, opened a few windows to display the now setting sun and left with a soft "Sorry."

Zezuri didn't respond; she collapsed on the bed from emotional overload and fell asleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Would it kill you people to review or something? Please?


	22. Comfort and Bandages

**Bleached: Ep. 22**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: This chapter is 100 written by Airi. I had it for an entire weekend and just couldn't stop writing. It ran for seven writen pages and started last chapter somewhere. The end of it is at the end of this chapter. Personally, I'm quite proud of this part. -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri awoke hours later from a dream. At first she thought she was back in Las Noches, seeing the night sky out the window, but the room was different enough to convince her this wasn't the case. Remembering Grimmjow and Airi made her remember that sleep wasn't an option right now; if they didn't get medical attention soon… no, she couldn't let herself think that.

Opening the door quietly, Zezuri slipped outside and stared to run in the direction of what she hoped was second division. The soul society looked very different at night than it did in the day, she thought as she ran. Or, maybe it was the fact that she was on the ground, not the roof of these buildings. She ran into one split in the path and randomly chose a direction, hoping it wouldn't lead her astray. Many times Zezuri made decisions like this, but for every other try, she found herself in a dead end or getting further away from her destination. Getting frantic, she ran faster.

"WHAM!"

"Oww…" moaned Zezuri and the person she had just run into.

"I'm sorry!" they both apologized at the same time.

"Huh?" asked the shinigami Zezuri had crashed into. He was about her height, with short black hair and a confused expression.

"W-who are you?" asked Zezuri, unable to tell if he was friend or foe.

"I'm Hanataro Yamada, seventh seat, fourth squad," he introduced himself with a polite bow, "Who are you?"

"I'm Zezuri."

"You're the one everyone's talking about?"

"Huh?"

"The one who they rescued from the arrancar!"

"I guess so…" Zezuri hung her head in sadness.

"W-what's wrong?" Hanataro asked.

Zezuri broke into tears yet again.

"U-uh, don't cry, you're safe here!" Hanataro's misconception of the source of her tears made Zezuri only more distraught. "W-why don't you come to fourth division's headquarters until you calm down?" the shinigami suggested, trying not to panic.

Zezuri nodded meekly, allowing Hanataro to take her hand and lead her down the dark roads of the seireitei.

Soon, they arrived at a large, well lit, two story building. Hanataro led Zezuri, still crying, in.

"Hanataro, what's the meaning of this?" demanded the blond fourth seat of fourth squad, Yasochika.

"Well, she was upset, so I brought her here to calm down," Hanataro responded to his superior's inquiry. "Sit here, I'll be back in a moment," he told Zezuri. He turned back to Yasochika, "Is Unohana-taicho in?"

"Yes, but you'd better not be thinking of waking her up for something this petty."

"O-of course not," stuttered Hanataro over his shoulder as he ran down the main hallway.

"Hanataro, what's the rush for?"

"Captain Unohana?!"

The captain was descending the staircase at the end of the hall. "What's the problem?"

--

Zezuri was sobbing, her arms wrapped around her knees, when a comforting hand was put on her shoulder. She looked up into the deep brown eyes of Restu Unohana. "Zezuri?" she asked, "Would you mind if I sat with you?"

Zezuri shook her head as the fourth captain sat beside her.

"Hanataro is worried he made you upset somehow, why the tears?"

It took awhile, but Unohana was famous for her patience, and eventually she stared to get the story out of the upset girl. "Make sure I've understood you, " the captain wanted to get her facts straight before she took action, "The two arrancar that are locked up in second division prison are your friends?"

Zezuri nodded.

"And neither of them have received any medical attention?"

Again a nod.

"Stay here, we'll take care of that," Unohana stood up and walked at a brisk pace back upstairs, returning with her zanpakto in hand and followed by a taller female shinigami with short silver hair.

"Unohana taicho! You can't be serious, healing the arrancar!" protested Yasochika, whom had heard just about everything.

Retsu passed him an icy glare; "We of fourth division are charged with the duty of healing and caring for the injured, I cannot sit by idly when there are people in trouble." Yasochika stared, mouth agape with shock as the captain and lieutenant rushed by.

"Hmph," said fourth seat as the two women left, "Lousy arrancars, the captain shouldn't have to waste her time and power on monsters such as them."

Zezuri started sobbing loudly.

Yasochika left the room without saying anything. He didn't understand the "rescued" girl at all.

Hanataro entered the room again with a mound of cloth bandages, which he set on the clean floor by Zezuri and began to fold them up and stack them in the large basket he'd brought them out in.

Zezuri watched him in silence for a while. "M-may I help?" she asked feeling bad for crying on the shinigami and causing him so much distress.

"Sure," he replied with a huge grin. Zezuri moved to the other side of the basket and began to fold the bandages as Hanataro shower her how.

When they had finished, Zezuri helped the seventh seat put the bandages in their respective places.

Seeing the worried expression on Zezuri's face hadn't gone away, he tried again to console her with words. "Don't worry, Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Isane are the best two healers in soul society," Hanataro stated proudly.

Zezuri attempted a smile.

The shinigami noticed her attempt and smiled back.

"Thank you, Hanataro."

"Huh? There's no need to thank me, thank the captain when she returns!"

Zezuri nodded.

--

How long had it been? Airi wondered, how long ago had she been put in this cell? How was Grimmjow doing? He'd been silent since she'd awoken. Where was Zezuri, was she alive? Of course Airi had no answers for any of these questions, but still she wondered. For the moment, at least, she had pushed all concerns for herself out of her mind. Airi had grown accustomed to the perpetual silence of the room; if she had a heartbeat, she was positive it'd be quite plain to hear. A noise started in the distance, as it got louder Airi realized it was the voice of two women arguing.

"How are you going to explain it to the general commander if she's dead?" the older sounding one demanded.

"Unohana, they're monsters and my prisoners, I don't see why it's such a concern to you," retorted the harsh voice of Soi-Fon. Their argument echoed through the halls.

"From what the girl told me, one is critically wounded and the other could be dead already!" Unohana was raging, not something that she did normally.

"But-"

"That's enough, Soi-Fon, I won't let you leave people, arrancar or not, to rot in your prisons."

Soi-Fon stopped arguing; she knew Unohana could pull the seniority rank on her if this argument went much further.

When Unohana had said 'the girl' Airi began to hope that she meant Zezuri, but how would she have know the conditions of her and Grimmjow? The footsteps got louder and Airi guessed there was a third person with the two arguing ones.

They stopped first at the cell across the hall: Grimmjow's. "Well, he doesn't seem too bad," observed Unohana.

Grimmjow remained motionless as Unohana entered. Even at full power, he knew he wouldn't have been able to break out of the strongest prison in soul society.

A single pair of footsteps approached Airi's cell. "T-taicho!" the third person yelled.

"What is it, Isane?" asked Unohana, putting the finishing touched on Grimmjow's bandages.

"This one over here must be the one the girl said was in really bad shape; it's true!"

Soi-Fon reluctantly opened the door for the lieutenant of 4th squad.

Isane entered and immediately started to analyze the damage. "Looks like her right shoulder is broken, along with a few ribs, she's got deep gashes all over her," Isane gave the damage report to Unohana upon her entry.

"We need to stop the bleeding first and then we'll work on the ribs and her arm, we'll do that last since it'll take the most time."

Isane nodded and immediately got to work bandaging Airi. Although she hid it well, Airi could tell Isane feared her, but she didn't hold it against her. The arrancar lay motionless as she let the two shinigami work.

Soi-Fon stared at the scene as if she didn't believe what she was seeing.

After a few minutes of working in silence, Unohana decided to ask her patient a few questions. "Is your name Airi?" she asked gently.

Airi's eyes flew open in surprise, "Y-yes," she managed through the torrent of pain; the two healers were now bandaging a particularly nasty cut on her right arm, just around the break point. "H-how do you know it?" Airi asked.

"A young girl told me about you."

"Zezuri?"

"Yes, what is she to you?"

"My friend."

"Not your captive?"

"No!" Airi was starting to get angered by the direction of the questions.

"I see… we'll talk more later, this next part is going to hurt," Retsu turned to her lieutenant, "Use a sleep spell."

Isane complied and soon Airi was asleep.

--

Renji was in a panic. Zezuri had left in the middle of the night, he guessed, since he'd been checking in on her every hour. At one point he'd fallen asleep and woke up later, missing an hourly check in. That was when he had noticed she was missing. "The captain's going to have my head for this," he muttered flash-stepping around the areas looking for her. The sun was just coming up over the horizon now and still no sign of Zezuri. He'd already checked the entirety of 6th division and now was headed towards second division. He dashed from roof-top to roof-top. How hard would it be to find a girl in a pink kimono in a world where everyone else wore black, he wondered.

Renji reached second division's headquarters and asked to speak with Captain Soi-Fon. But, she was preoccupied and Zezuri hadn't been here, the lieutenant had told him between handfuls of food. Attempting not to get angry with himself, he paused on one rooftop and tried to figure out possible places she might have gotten to. The closest domains to sixth were eleventh and fourth. All right, he decided, I'll start with 4th.

Hanataro was out hanging laundry on the clotheslines when an out-of-breath Renji ran up to him. "Abarai-san? What's the matter?" the seventh seat of fourth squad had only met the lieutenant of 6th a few times before, but enough that the two knew each other.

"Yamada, have you seen a girl about this girl wearing a pink kimono and a green hair clip?"

"Zezuri?" Hanataro smiled, "She's inside sleeping, I found her last night wandering, I think she was lost, anyways, she's inside."

Renji let out a huge sigh of relief, Zezuri was safe and so was his reputation.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Comments? Something? Please?


	23. The Decision of the Captains

**Bleached: Ep. 23**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: A warning, Zezuri is VERY good at writing Mayuri's parts... -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri awoke the next day feeling more relaxed, but startled to find herself back in sixth division.

"Breakfast," stated Renji, sliding open the door. He led her down the hall to a table with food. "After your little adventure last night, I'd think you'd be hungry." Renji said as Zezuri looked at the food.

"…Don't you hate me? Those arrancar are my friends…" she said.

"…No, just cuz they're your friends doesn't make you a bad person. Now eat and relax, Hanataro told me everything and your friend will be fine," Renji said to comfort her. With that Zezuri picked up a pair of chopsticks and began to eat.

When she finished she set her cup down with a sigh. "I must… thank everyone," she said with a slight smile.

"I'll take you to squad four later," Renji said, glad to see her smiling.

"But, I really must thank you, Renji, you let me stay here, feed me, and you even worry about me…"

Her gratitude made Renji blush slightly, "N-no problem… but you should thank the captain."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" replied Renji.

The door slid open and a young girl wearing a lieutenant's badge entered.

"Momo?" Renji said, a bit confused.

"Is this the girl you rescued?" Momo asked and Renji nodded.

Zezuri looked up at the fifth lieutenant in wonder as she walked over and joined them at the table.

"You… I'm sorry… I don't want to be rude, but… you were with Aizen-taicho, and I can't help but ask, how is he?"

Renji knew Momo still had a hard time letting go of her former captain. Even though he had almost killed her, she was still devoted.

Zezuri was going to ask why she wanted to know, but then she realized this was in a similar situation as herself; unable to see the one she cared for. "He's alright… I guess… I didn't really see him too much…" Zezuri finally replied.

Momo bowed, feeling relived. "T-thank you so much! My name is Momo Hinamori, by the way," a smile crossed the lieutenant's face.

"No problem, I'm Zezuri," she smiled as well.

--

Grimmjow continued to sulk, even though he felt better now that his wounds were healed, but something still bothered him in his mind.

--

Meanwhile, captain Yamamoto had a captains meeting. "It is time that we question our captives, I suggest we start with the stronger one, I leave the questioning to…" Yamamoto was giving directions until the 12th captain butted in.

"I wouldn't mind doing the task, Head Captain."

"…Alright, but don't go overboard. We need them alive to get answers."

"Head Captain, with all due respect, giving them over to Captain Kurosuchi is dangerous…" Jushiro protested.

"We need answers by any means necessary," Yamamoto said, making it clear that there would be no arguing.

"Captain Yamamoto?"

"Yes, Unohana?" the Head Captain was surprised to hear the fourth captain speaking up.

"I spoke with one of the prisoners while I was healing her."

"The weaker one?"

"Yes, she seemed willing to answer my questions."

Head Captain Yamamoto was silent for a moment. "Very well, I'll leave that one to you."

Mayuri started to protest.

"Meeting dismissed!" shouted the general.

--

It was afternoon when Unohana returned to her division to grab a few supplies on her way to the second division prisons. "Renji? And Zezuri? What brings you two here?" The captain asked the visitors.

"I-I came to thank you for yesterday," Zezuri said. Unohana smiled at Zezuri,

"You're welcome."

"How were they?"

"The blue-haired one wasn't too bad, I healed him quite easily, but the other one was beyond what kido could heal."

Zezuri's expression went to worried.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine, in fact, I'm on my way to go see her again."

Zezuri thanked the captain once more.

"Isane?" the captain called her lieutenant, "Let's go."

"Yes ma'am," the two shinigami walked out of the main building.

--

Mayuri and Nemu Kurosuchi entered second division's prisons immediately after the captains' meeting. "Such lovely specimens, too bad I lost one because of that woman!" Mayuri was raging, indignant that Retsu had managed to steal one of his research subjects.

--

Renji and Zezuri retuned to sixth division at the same time Byakuya had returned from the captains meeting. "Taicho, don't mind me asking, but what happened at the meeting?" Renji asked.

Byakuya gave an irritated glare, but answered anyway. "The arrancar are to be questioned, one by Unohana, but the stronger one will be questioned by Kurosuchi."

Suddenly worry spread across Renji's face.

Zezuri didn't know who this captain was, but by Renji's expression it wasn't anything good. "I-is that a bad thing?" she asked but was afraid to know the answer at the same time.

"For the arrancar, most-likely," stated Renji.

"I-I've gotta do something!" Zezuri shouted, "Although, I do not know what."

--

Airi stared in terror of the captain of the other side of the bars. He had mad scientist as well as evil clown written all over him.

"Let's see what we have here," he said looking over both the arrancar.

Grimmjow looked up at Mayuri with a glare.

"Both so interesting… I should start with the girl first, before Unohana gets here…" Mayuri muttered.

"That won't be necessary, Kurosuchi…" said Unohana in a stern voice, startling everyone.

"Hmph… you got lucky girl…" Mayuri marched off to Grimmjow's cell in anger.

Unohana watched as Mayuri passed, giving Grimmjow a worried glance before seeing to Airi.

Mayuri hovered over Grimmjow with a mad stare while Nemu gazed expressionless as she stood behind him.

--

"Please! Isn't there something!?" Zezuri shook Renji by his shirt.

Renji couldn't look at her as tears filled in Zezuri's eyes. "I'm sorry… it's the Head Captain's orders… there isn't much we can do…"

Zezuri let go of him and quickly headed to the door.

"Don't try anything. There is nothing a human can do in the affairs of soul reapers." Byakuya spoke.

Zezuri froze in place for a moment, but ran out the door, tears streaming down her face. She was headed for fourth division; Byakuya and Renji both knew this since it was the only place Zezuri knew how to get to.

--

Unohana entered Airi's cell. The girl was terrified of Mayuri, Unohana noted. "Airi?" Captain Unohana asked, but Airi didn't respond; she stared in fear at the 12th captain across the hall.

"Isane, we've got to get her out of here."

"What?! Won't that be considered a jail break?" the lieutenant had been as silent as her captain's shadow until now.

"No, we'll move her to our division."

"But… what if she breaks out?"

"I'll accept full responsibility if that happens."

Isane knew the older shinigami's mind was already made up.

"Wait here, I need to confront Soi-Fon on this and I don't trust leaving Airi by herself in that man's presence," Unohana briskly walked back up the stairs leaving Isane in one of the last places she wanted to be.

Isane looked the female arrancar over; her wounds were healing much better, now that they had been tended to.

Unohana returned moments later accompanied by Soi-Fon. The ninja-captain was clearly not pleased by all these visitors. Soi-Fon entered Airi's cell along with Unohana and approached Airi. In the ninja captain's hand was a red collar, identical to the one Rukia had worn. She put the collar around Airi's neck and fastened it tightly. Without a single word Soi-Fon walked out of the prison making it clear she wanted nothing more to do with these people; she had troops to train, missions to complete, reports sent to their respective places, etcetera.

Isane lifted Airi up to discover she was lighter than she expected an arrancar to be. Following her captain, she exited the dungeons and then second division.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please comment, review, something? It motivates me to post more!


	24. Visitors for the Prisoners

**

* * *

**

Bleached: Ep. 24

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are ours._

_Note: This chapter contains a little bit of a flash-back in retelling mode. Sorry, but it was the only way we could move the story forward. Sometimes going back and thinking helps! -Airi_

* * *

Hanataro was washing the floors of the outer halls of fourth division when Zezuri ran through the front gates. "What's the matter?" he called out to her.

Seeing the familiar face, Zezuri went over to her newest friend. She had stopped crying during the long run there, but it was apparent she was still distraught.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the shinigami asked.

Zezuri shook her head no and stared at the bucket of water Hanataro was using to clean. "Can I help?" she asked quietly, wanting something to do.

"Of course! Let me get another cloth!" the shinigami ran into the building and reappeared a few seconds later with an extra cloth for Zezuri.

--

Meanwhile, Mayuri looked over Grimmjow before pulling out his sword.

"Master Mayuri…" Nemu questioned her captain.

"Quiet, Nemu, I want to see how he'll react to Agisogi Jizo's poison, plus if it paralyzes him, then it will be easier to deal with him." Mayuri pointed his Zanpakto at Grimmjow's neck as a purple gas filled the air. "Now… a few questions… where are you and the rest of you beasts hiding at, hmm? How did you evolve and get so powerful? And what does Aizen want with the Hygoku?" Mayuri glared but Grimmjow was stubborn and kept quiet. "Won't talk, eh? I know a little human girl that has been roaming about… she has such potential… I would like to get my hands on her…" Mayuri looked into Grimmjow's eyes and noticed they suddenly flooded with fury.

"I'll rip you apart if you touch her!" Grimmjow was relived she was safe, but the fact that this creep would touch her made him furious.

"You actually have feelings for a human? A beast like you? Hmph, she's been having such a good time here, making new friends. She's probably forgotten all about you…" Mayuri teased.

Grimmjow glared straight at Mayuri in disbelief.

"Has she ever come to see you?" Mayuri knew that they wouldn't let her see him, but leading Grimmjow on like this was amusing.

Grimmjow's expression changed back to his sulking face, he was right, Zezuri hadn't come to see him.

"Of course… feel sorry for yourself… but I still want answers…" Mayuri pointed his sword closer as he chuckled.

--

While Zezuri and Hanataro were cleaning floors, Captain Unohana and Isane returned with Airi. Right away Zezuri recognized Airi. Zezuri leapt up, dropping her cloth, and rushed over.

"Shh… she's asleep, we'll take care of her." Said Unohana, before leading Isane to a room that was currently empty, leaving Zezuri to return to cleaning.

"W-was that an ar-arrancar they brought in?" stammered Hanataro.

"Yeah… sort of… she was human before that…" Zezuri stared at the entrance to the building before deciding to follow the captain.

"Human?" Hanataro thought.

--

"Um…" Zezuri stood in the doorway as Airi regained consciousness.

"Zezuri!" Airi was so happy but the pain kept her from getting up.

"Now, now, settle down, I have some questions to ask you," said Unohana.

"W-wait… Zezuri, Grimmjow… he, he's not safe… he's in trouble!" Airi tried to warn her friend.

Zezuri looked at the floor. "I know, I asked Captain Kuchki and Renji, but they told me to stay out of it."

"The guy left in charge of him… reminded me of Syazel."

Zezuri's eyes went wide in fear at the mention of the eighth espada. Noticing that Unohana was waiting for a chance to speak, Zezuri apologized and excused herself from the room.

The captain moved more into the room where Airi now lay. Kneeling on a cushion next to the bed, the healer-captain spoke, "I see you weren't lying, she really is your friend."

"You… didn't believe me…?" Airi asked, "…not that I blame you."

--

Meanwhile Zezuri was helping Hanataro again; this time they were washing bandages outside in the courtyard. Hanataro had become interested in Zezuri's story and she seemed quite willing to tell him more about it. "But… why would Aizen just show up and kidnap the two of you?"

"I-I don't know, he never talked to us about it."

"They kept us in a room for most of the time," Airi was telling Unohana the same story as Zezuri was telling Hanataro, "The guards were Grimmjow, Luppi, and occasionally D-Roy. Grimmjow is the ar-, other arrancar you saw."

The captain noted Airi's hesitation in her sentence. She had omitted the part about her being originally human.

"But Grimmjow was always nice to me," Zezuri told Hanataro, "Every time I found myself in trouble, he came to my rescue," she put another bandage into the wash bin with a small smile on her face. "Once, Airi and I tried to escape, I ran into a room of hollows and almost got eaten."

"What happened?"

"Grimmjow killed all of them and saved me."

"What happened to Airi? Did you get separated?"

--

"I managed to get outside Las Noches," Airi told Unohana, "and I kept running until a sandstorm hit me," Airi grimaced at the memory of that ordeal.

"Did they recapture you?" asked the captain.

"Well, yeah, I guess. It was Ulquiorra who led me back."

--

"And then Aizen kept saying we had special powers and he'd make Airi train constantly… but they said I needed something more than training…" Zezuri continued now with a fearful look on her face.

--

"He handed her over to Syazel who tortured her, but when nothing happened, they threw her out," said Airi.

--

"That's when I met Aishda. He took care of me in the Menos' Forest."

--

"It felt like forever but Grimmjow brought her back. I know he really wanted to, since all he did was sulk while she was gone."

--

"That's when I returned and we started retrieving shards," Zezuri finished.

"Wow, you've been through a lot. And they tortured you?!" Hanataro asked shocked.

Zezuri placed the hand over her scars again. "A little…"

--

Mayuri slammed his sword hilt across Grimmjow's head, knocking him over. There were several wounds that were now bleeding again. "Well, I'm through with you… I have the answers I need for now…" And with that Mayuri and Nemu left.

--

Later, Unohana finished her questions and Zezuri and Hanataro were eating lunch.

Unohana came out of the room and walked up to Zezuri. "Zezuri… you can use healing kido, correct?" Unohana asked.

"Y-yes. " Zezuri answered.

"I would like to see what you can do… come with me…" and with that, Zezuri followed Unohana.

Unohana led her back to the cells.

"What are you doing here? And why haven't you brought the other prisoner back!?" Soi-Fon demanded.

"She is still being taken care of and she'll be returned later. Now let us pass so that we may heal the other one…" said Unohana.

"Why did you bring the human?"

"I would like to see what she can do healing wise, as you everyone else." Unohana explained as they passed Soi-Fon and continued to Grimmjow's cell.

--

Unohana and Zezuri stared at Grimmjow as he lay unconscious. "Looks like Mayuri overdid it again…" commented Unohana.

Zezuri's eyes shook with tears as Soi-Fon opened the cell.

Grimmjow regained consciousness as he heard someone coming in.

Unohana walked in first, followed by Zezuri. "We've come to heal you." Unohana said and motioned Zezuri to come help.

Zezuri knelt down and quickly unleashed her healing power.

Grimmjow was surprised to see her. How long had it been?

Tears ran down her face as she continued to heal him.

"She really does have power and it's very strong…" Unohana thought as she watched.

Soon Zezuiri was done and Grimmjow sat up.

Unohana looked at the two and smiled. "I'll give you a moment; I'll be outside the cell and clearing things up with Soi-Fon," Unohana said as she left the cell. Both remained silent.

Suddenly, Grimmjow pulled her into a tight embrace.

Zezuri started to cry again as she nuzzled herself into his chest. "I-I'm so sorry… they wouldn't let me…" she sobbed.

Grimmjow patted her head, "Whatever, you're here now, so it's fine, but we don't have much time."

"I don't know how to get you out…" she said.

"Don't worry about it, Aizen will come up with something…" Grimmjow really wasn't sure, but said it anyways. They then heard the others approaching again. "Looks like you have to go again…" he said.

"Yeah…" It hurt her so much to leave him alone again.

Grimmjow quickly leaned in and kissed her for as long as he could before Unohana showed up in the doorway.

--

Airi was alone in her room/prison in 4th division. It didn't matter to her that she was locked up again. The people here were much nicer tan her previous captors, well some of them were. She stared up at the ceiling wondering what would happen to her. She knew that as soon as she healed completely and they'd gotten all the information out of her, they would do away with her. After all, she was an arrancar. She'd have to find a way out, but how? Currently she was in no condition to go anywhere and the collar around her neck drained all the power she possessed. Airi heard someone walk down the hall by her room and wondered if Zezuri would be allowed to visit again

A few moments later, the door opened. Airi looked over to see an unfamiliar face. It was Hanataro.

"Uh… Miss Airi…"

Airi looked at the Shinigami, confused, "Yeah, I'm Airi."

"Zezuri… told me… you were human before Aizen kidnapped you."

Airi looked back at the ceiling, "I was." Airi hadn't told anyone about that fact, she didn't know why, but she had felt like hiding it.

--

"We need to leave now, Zezuri," Unohana said.

Zezuri looked at her and nodded before looking at Grimmjow again as she squeezed his hand tightly. Grimmjow wondered if she was okay with them.

"She'll be alright, we treat her kindly and she's well taken care of," Unohana spoke softly as if reading his mind.

Grimmjow felt a little more relived as Zezuri left after giving him one more embrace.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Review? Comment? Please?


	25. Dinner On the Porch

**Bleached: Ep. 25**

_Disclaimer: No matter how many times we write Bleach fan-fic, we still do not own a scrap of it! Airi and Zezuri, however, remain ours. _

_Note: Happy 4th! (If anyone really care) -Airi_

* * *

Hanataro's main reason for entering Airi's room was actually to clean the floors, which he was now in the process of doing. Like Isane, he feared the arrancar girl even though he knew she was presently harmless. But, he thought, if she was once a human, how did she become an arrancar? The only was as for as he knew was for a human sould to become a hollow and then an arrancar. Zezuri, he was certain, didn't know this, so what had happened? "Um…" he started.

Airi cast her gaze on the shinigami, "What?"

"I-I know this might be rude of me f-for asking, b-but, how did you b-become an a-arrancar?" Hanataro braced himself expecting a harsh response from the wounded arrancar.

Airi's gaze intensified as if she were staring though Hanataro into the past. "It's really a blur in my mind," she stated, "I was in Aizen's office, because he called me there. Tosen and Gin, I think his name was, grabbed me and Aizen slammed some box-thing into me," Airi put a hand to where her hollow hole was.

"W-what happened then?"

"I don't remember much more other than a ton of pain, because I passed out soon after that. I woke up some time later back in my cell."

Hanataro stared at the mask fragments in Airi's hair, her story sounded true enough, but these were dangerous times, only just over a month ago had Aizen faked his own death, almost flawlessly too. Soul Society was still in a state of panic and disorder.

--

Unohana and Zezuri returned later in the evening. Zezuri rushed to Airi's room, "They're torturing him!" she cried after Airi asked what had happened. "He was barely alive when I got there, they, they used poison!" Zezuri sobbed uncontrollably into the sleeve of her kimono; she wasn't allowed into Airi's room other than the doorway.

"You were able to heal him, right?"

Zezuri nodded, "But… what if they do it again?"

Airi had no response, she'd used up the one shred of optimism she'd had.

"I'm really worried, Airi," Zezuri said choking back more tears.

Airi was worried too, after all Grimmjow was something of an ally or a friend to her and she was aware that he meant a lot more to Zezuri. "Grimmjow's a tough one, he can gang in there, somehow." Airi hoped what she said was true.

Unohana suddenly appeared in the doorway behind Zezuri, announcing that she'd like to speak with Airi again.

--

Zezuri left, heading down the hallway, wiping the tears from her face. The sleeves of her blue kimono were getting quite wet by now. She hadn't been paying attention to the hall in front of her when she almost walked into Renji.

"Watch were you're going, you could get hurt if you aren't careful," he gently admonished, "Hey, what're you crying about now?" The red haired shinigami was getting used to Zezuri's tears, but still wished he could do something for her.

"They're hurting Grimmjow," she spoke between sobs.

Renji put an arm around her waist and gently picked her up, "We've got to get back before the captain gets mad," he explained as he carried her back to sixth division.

--

"I've talked to Soi-Fon and she's given me permission to keep you here instead of the second division prison," Retsu Unohana told her captive.

This was good news for Airi, but what of Grimmjow? Was there any hope in his future?

"However, should we, after more interrogation, decide you are too dangerous to contain, I'm afraid I cannot promise you anything."

Never mind, thought Airi, I'm still in the same position, just a different prison.

"Unohana, may we enter?" a vaguely familiar voice came from the doorway.

"Yes, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, you don't have to ask."

Two more shinigami entered the room. One was a tall woman with vibrant orange hair. She wore her uniform so that it exposed more of her chest than Airi would have dared let show.

The sight of the other shinigami sent sparks flying across Airi's body. She knew he meant no harm, but some natural reflexes had taken over. Before her now stood Toshiro Hitsugaya, the last person she could remember fighting.

"So, it's really true. If she was any normal arrancar she would of attack at anytime by now, but she hasn't…" Toshiro thought out loud.

"Are you really saying that you're sure she was human?" Rangiku asked, unsure.

"That's what I heard… is that true?" he asked Airi.

"Yeah… but it's… getting hard to remember that I was," Airi responded.

"If you stay in this state for much longer, all human qualities will be lost, or so I have reason to believe," Toshiro stated.

--

Meanwhile, Renji and Zezuri had returned to sixth division. Zezuri wasn't crying but still depressed.

"Hey, um… you should get some fresh air, how about we eat dinner outside?" Renji asked scratching the back of his head.

The two sat on the porch by the courtyard watching the fireflies start glowing as the sun slowly set. Momo, the girl shinigami from earlier showed up and joined them on the porch. The group of three commented on the weather and everything but the arrancars. Then, two more shinigami joined the gathering.

"Are we having a party?" Matsumoto inquired as and Hitsugaya showed up in sixth division's courtyard.

"Toshiro!" gladly exclaimed Momo.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya!"

"What are you two doing here?" Renji asked.

"I was checking in on Momo," the short captain stated.

Momo blushed slightly and looked away. It hadn't been that long since she had recovered from Aizen's attack. While her physical wounds were mostly healed, Hitsugaya worried about his older sister's mental state.

While Renji and Hitsugaya discussed related topics, Matsumoto approached Zezuri, "So, you must be Zezuri. I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, lieutenant of tenth division," Rangiku introduced herself.

"Um… hello." Zezuri replied with a half smile.

"We actually just came here after visiting fourth division," Matsumoto started up a conversation, like always.

Zezuri looked at the woman who was speaking to her.

"Your friend Airi, she's losing herself to her hollow part." Zezuri's eyes went wide; she hadn't realized Airi had been fighting herself on the inside.

"What will happen to her?" she asked.

"We don't know; she's the first human we've known of to go hollow as she did. I suspect she'll lose the battle; after all she didn't look like she cared too much about being locked up. I'd bet she already knows what'll happen when the hollow takes over."

"What?"

"We will have no choice but to destroy her."

"I-isn't there anything we can do?"

Matsumoto shook her head sadly. "It's amazing she's resisted for this long."

Zezuri's eyes filled up with tears. "Now, now, no time for tears tonight, we can worry about it tomorrow. Your friend still has some fight left in her," Rangiku, despite her revealing appearance, had a calming voice. She patted Zezuri on the head. "Well, if this is a party, where's the sake!?" Rangiku exclaimed suddenly with a grin.

"S-sake!?" Zezuri exclaimed nervously.

"Matsumoto, I'm afraid we don't have any," said Renji.

"What?!" You can't have a party without sake!"

"This isn't a party."

"Then what is it?"

"Dinner. On the porch."

Matsumoto eventually calmed down and decided she didn't need the sake after all.

--

Isane brought some food to Airi's room shortly after the tenth captain and lieutenant departed. "Hanataro told Unohana and I what you said… about being human," the silver haired shinigami said as she set the tray down on a table by the bed.

"So that's how they knew," Airi commented.

"I didn't think it was possible for a human to be turned into a hollow without being a spirit first," Isane was attempting to be friendly, after all she felt sorry for the girl she was now helping sit up. Previous to this, Unohana and Isane had been discussing Airi's condition.

"It doesn't look like she's going to fight the hollow part for much longer," The captain had said.

"Why not?"

"She's been through so much. Remember she was kidnapped, tortured and the captured again. Airi's running out of hope."

Isane knew quite well that a major factor in a patient's recovery was their attitude. Maybe she could restore some of Airi's lost hope by being friendlier.

* * *

Thanks for reading! See ya next time!


	26. Happy Birthday Zezuri

**Bleached: Ep. 26**

_Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Bleach. Airi and Zezuri are ours._

_Note: Hey, since I'm working on this right now, have another chapter! -Airi_

* * *

A few days later, Zezuri woke up to find the weather to be quite pleasant. It looks like summer outside, she thought, it's been a long while since I've looked at a calendar, I wonder what today is?

Zezuri went down stairs and saw Renji and Byakuya discussing some light topics. "Um… I don't mean to be rude, but what day is it?" she asked.

"Err…" Renji thought about it.

"June 20," Byakuya quickly responded.

Zezuri paused to think a moment.

"Wh—" Renji was suddenly interrupted.

"It's my birthday!" Zezuri burst forth with excitement.

This was the first time either of the shinigami had seen her so enthused about something.

"How old does that make you?" asked Renji, recovering from shock.

"18."

Should I be doing something for her? Wondered Renji, he looked to his captain as if for support.

Byakuya however, was occupied with the stack of paperwork on his desk.

Renji looked back at the girl to see her silently crying. "Wait… why are you crying?" Renji asked.

"I-I've been away from home for longer than I thought. I-I'd be out of school for the summer."

"Renji," Byakuya spoke.

"Yes, taicho?"

"You have my permission to take the day off and to take Zezuri somewhere nice."

Renji's jaw dropped. "Thank you taicho!" he gave a formal bow and escorted Zezuri from the office.

--

Airi was getting really irritated; she'd been in the same room for four days now. Looking back, she almost preferred her room in Las Noches to this place. Isane, Hanataro, and Unohana paid her the occasional visit, mainly to check on the condition of her shoulder, which was healing much faster than Airi thought possible. It has something to do with being an arrancar, Airi thought. Arrancar. Hollow. Airi was aware she was losing herself bit by bit to another part of herself. It wasn't another consciousness that she was fighting for control; just odd instincts that she knew weren't hers… Zezuri had been in a few times to see her, but never got to stay long. Airi hadn't heard any news of Grimmjow since she'd been brought here. He must still be hanging in there, she thought, I know I would have heard if something happened. Also, as Airi had predicted, nothing suggested a rescue attempt was going to happen for her, Grimmjow, or Zezuri. It angered her that the lowly shinigami who had done so much to her would just abandon her and even the sixth strongest espada.

"Airi?" came a voice from the doorway; it was Zezuri, followed by Renji.

"Zezuri, good morning." Airi faked a smile.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"Today's my birthday!"

A look of surprise crossed the blonde's face. "Happy Birthday!" she told her friend, "Uh… that would make today the…" Airi's voice trailed off as she attempted to consult her mental calendar.

"It's the 20th of June." Renji informed her.

"Right," Airi said a little depressed that she had forgotten her friend's birthday.

Zezuri looked at Airi silently. "Airi… you'll be okay, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm always okay, aren't I?" Airi faked another smile.

Zezuri began tearing up again; she knew her friend was lying.

"Don't worry about it, it's your birthday, you should have to cry," Airi consoled her friend. Zezuri rusher over and embraced Airi before Renji could stop her.

"We should be going…" Renji said and led Zezuri out.

--

Zezuri stood just outside the building, remembering the one other person she would like to spend her birthday with.

Suddenly, Momo rushed over dragging Toshiro with her. "I came as soon as I could, you weren't at 6th division and Captain Kuchki said it was Zezuri's birthday… so Toshiro and I got you a little something!" Momo said while catching her breath as she handed a box to Zezuri.

"Y-you didn't have too…"

"Just open it…" Toshiro ordered.

Zezuri opened the box without further hesitation. In the long, small, blue box was a silver butterfly clip. "W-why…" Zezuri was stunned at how thoughtful her shinigami friends were.

"Well, we got Matsumoto to pitch in a little too, so think of it as a present from all of us!" Hinarmori smiled.

Zezuri took the clip out of the box and changed the one in her hair. She put the green clip in the pocket of her sleeve of her kimono.

The group of five was exiting fourth division when Retsu Unohana emerged from a room along the corridor. "Did I hear it was someone's birthday today?" she asked looking at Zezuri.

The brunette girl nodded, "It's my 18th birthday."

"I see," replied Unohana with a smile, "Come by again later, we'll have a party here."

"Y-you don't have to do that!" stuttered Zezuri, shocked.

Retsu smiled, "Don't worry about it, birthdays only come once a year, so why not have a party?"

"T-thank you!" Zezuri was taken aback by the captain's display of kindness. Zezuri looked at the floor again; being around this captain also reminded her of her want to be with Grimmjow.

Noticing her downcast gaze, the captain spoke again. "You can come with me today on my trip to the cell," Unohana had been tending to Grimmjow's wounds on a daily basis, she did' think this was all that good of an idea, but nothing else would make Zezuri as happy. "I was just about to go, so if the four of you want to wait here for us, feel free to help out Hanataro and Isane with preparations."

The four shinigami caught the hint in Retsu's suggestion.

Hitsugaya muttered something about paper work, but Momo was already dragging him off to help.

Renji followed them, at a complete loss for what else to do.

--

Zezuri and Unohana were let into the second division's cell without much protest from Soi-Fon.

Grimmjow was once again slumped against the bars with his back to any who entered.

"Grimmjow, I've brought you a visitor," Unohana said opening the door to his cell. Grimmjow remained unresponsive.

"Grimmjow?" asked Zezuri, she entered his cell slowly.

He looked up and she flung herself at him in an embrace.

Grimmjow winced in pain as Zezuri hit some sore spots.

"Opps… sorry…" she muttered blushing. Zezuri stood up, stepped back and cast a healing spell. "T-today's my birthday…" she started, unsure if arrancars had birthdays.

"Happy birthday," Grimmjow managed a crooked smile, something about the human's presence made it possible for him to do so.

"L-look what I got!" she pointed at the silver butterfly clip in her hair.

"It, it looks nice on you," the blue haired espada felt strange giving a complement. He could count on one hand how many times he'd ever done so.

"Zezuri, I'm sorry, we need to leave now," Unohana had sense Mayuri's presence on the move.

"Shinigami," stated Grimmjow.

Unohana winced at his rudeness, "Yes, Grimmjow?"

"Make sure she has a good day. I won't forgive you if she's not happy."

Unohana smiled at the espada who looked away in self-disgust.

"Don't worry, I guarantee she'll have a good day," with that, she and Zezuri exited the prisons.

Grimmjow looked at the floor. "Tch, I've gone soft," he muttered, "What's this?" Something green was on the floor next to him. Picking it up, he realized it was Zezuri's old hair clip, the green one she'd always worn, until today. After fidgeting with the odd plastic object, he placed it in his pocket.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Comment or review please!


	27. Tea, Cake, and Escape

**Bleached: Ep. 27**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Zezuri and Airi. Jaime and Treo, two more characters are owned by some of our friends, and yes, they know we used them. _

_Note: Two more characters appear in this chapter just for comic relief. No they aren't from Bleach. One is a freind of ours and the other is his own OC, well sort of. But that's a long story and you don't really want to hear that. -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri and Unohana returned to find Renji and the other were still setting things up. "Oh, still working, well why don't you take Zezuri out somewhere to eat, Renji, while we finish here?" Unohana suggested.

"Umm… sure," agreed Renji, "Let's get something to eat." Renji led Zezuri to an exit. "Do you like tea?" Renji asked.

"Yeah, actually, I do," Zezuri responded.

"Great! Then I know just the place," Renji led Zezuri outside the serenities to a teashop in the first district of rukongai.

Zezuri was grateful for the change of scenery. "Where is this?" she asked.

"This is rukongai, it's where the souls reside that aren't soul reapers. This district is one of the better ones," Renji explained the districts to Zezuri.

--

"Welcome, Abarai-san, what can I get you and your guest today?" A tall man stood behind the counter; he had dark brown hair in a scraggly mane and wore a thin pair of glasses that rested on his nose.

"Ah, Jaime, how are you doing?" Renji greeted the man upon entering.

"Fine, but you didn't answer my question."

"Two of the house special," the red haired shinigami ordered.

"Hey! Treo! We need two specials!" Jaime called to the kitchen.

"So, Renji, introduce me to you friend here. I don't recall you ever telling me you had a… girlfriend." This last word was in hushed tones.

"S-she's not my girlfriend," said Renji, his face turning red.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well then, introduce me already."

"Fine." Renji turned to Zezuri who hadn't been paying attention to the guys; she was looking around her taking in the sights. "Zezuri, this is Jaime, the owner of the tea shop."

"Huh? Oh, hello!" Zezuri came to attention.

"Zezuri, is it?" an evil grin crossed Jaime's face.

"What do you think of Renji?"

"Well… uh… he's really kind to me and, um, nice," Zezuri hoped that would be a sufficient answer for him.

"Two orders of the special at precisely 323K," announced a shorter girl with very short black hair as she set the drinks on the counter in front of Zezuri and Renji. She gave a slightly irritated look to Jaime and walked back to the kitchen.

"Did you make her angry or something?" asked Renji.

"Nah, she just feels like she does all the work around here," replied Jaime, totally unconcerned.

"Well, doesn't she? I don't think I've ever seen you in the kitchen."

"Hey, I DO work," the shop owner protested.

"Like…?"

"Managing the counter."

"And socializing."

"I've got the most important job around here."

Renji sighed knowing he had lost this argument.

--

Later, they returned to fourth division. Everything was set up nicely. Toshiro, Momo, Rangiku, Unohana, Isane, Hanataro, and Byakuya were all there. Zezuri was so surprised. She barely knew theses people, yet here they were doing so much for her. Weren't they enemies? Tears welled up in her eyes again.

Renji put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong now?" he asked, concerned.

"T-thank you so much… you didn't have to do this… for me… really…"

"We wouldn't if we didn't want to, but we do, son don't worry about it," Toshiro said calmly, but with slight eye roll.

"Come on, let's have some fun!" Rangiku cheered, handing Zezuri something to drink.

--

The party was in full swing just after the sun had set. Everyone was talking about things and having a grand old time. Airi could hear the sounds from her room and was glad that Zezuri was at least enjoying herself.

Suddenly, footsteps were frantically running down the hallway.

"Izuru?" Matsumoto's voice was easily heard over the party, "Come to join the party?"

The party had ceased as the breathless lieutenant entered the room.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, Unohana-taicho, Taicho-taicho," he paused to catch his breath, "Prison break, second division's." Clearly the blond lieutenant had run a long distance for he still hadn't recovered enough to say much more.

Momo handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully downed.

"Any specific reasons of who, why, or what?" asked Toshiro.

"No, it just happened a few minutes ago."

"Matsumoto," Toshiro gave his lieutenant a glance.

She nodded as they flash stepped out.

"Isane, there might be injured people, we must assist." The fourth captain, lieutenant, and Hanataro exited, leaving Zezuri, Izuru, and Momo to realize sixth squad had left sometime between "jail break" and "second division".

--

Airi had heard most of the commotion from her room, but was unable to hear anything Izuru had said. Something was going on; something serious, did Grimmjow break out? No, he was in the same state as she was. Maybe Aizen sent a rescue team? But, try as she might, Airi couldn't detect anyone's presence. The window of Airi's room suddenly slid open.

--

The two lieutenants and Zezuri were trying to figure out what to do. "Shouldn't we go help out?" asked Momo.

"I've got to keep informing the other squads," said Izuru before flash stepping away.

"Well, I guess I can't just leave you here, but going to the attack scene is out of the question," Momo said to Zezuri. "Renji, why did you just leave without her?" she muttered.

--

Airi looked over to the intruder as he soundlessly entered through the window. Airi's room was in almost total darkness, but she knew without a doubt who was now lifting her from her bed.

--

The three squads showed up at the second division to find nothing looked out of the ordinary. But when they got to Grimmjow's cell, he was gone, there was a large hole in the wall, and Soi-Fon was in bad shape.

"Soi-Fon! What happened?" Toshiro asked.

"An… espada… he came and rescued the other one… but they… got away…" Soi-Fon had her hand placed tightly on a wound, but it didn't stop the bleeding.

"Isane, see to her wounds," Unohana ordered.

"He's more powerful that the one we kept here…" continued Soi-Fon.

--

Zezuri didn't know weather to feel excited or worried. Grimmjow escaping that god-forsaken prison was great, but if people were hurt, that was different. And who on earth came and got him? Did Aizen even know about this?

Momo suddenly looked up with worry. "T-there's a strong spiritual pressure… I-I don't recognize it at all." She was frightened.

Zezuri could feel it too; it was coming from the direction of Airi's room. The two girls ran to said room. Sliding the door open they realized the presence was gone. And so was Airi. Zezuri checked the room for clues as Momo rushed to the window to see if she could spot them. Only the cool summer breeze blowing through the trees and the soft glow of fireflies met her gaze.

"Why would they take the injured one? She wasn't even an espada," wondered Momo aloud.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Sorry I've been slow at updating!


	28. Unexpected Alliance

**Bleached: Ep. 28**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Prepare for the most random of plot twists! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile; I was at school, kind of. -Airi_

* * *

"Can you describe your attacker?" Hitsugaya asked Soi-Fon as some members of fourth division carried her on a stretcher to their headquarters.

"He was tall, black hair, dragon-like horn on his mask, very pale, green lines down his face, and green eyes," Soi-Fon acted like her pain was nothing, the only reason she'd allowed herself to be on the stretcher was so she could focus on answering Toshiro's questions.

"That one?" the tenth taicho asked, "I fought him when we took Zezuri into custody. It took Ichigo, Ukitake, Matsumoto, and my combined strength just to pull away from him," The short snowy-haired captain stared at Soi-Fon in amazement. "He must have been in a rush… but why?" He stopped mid-step as the realization hit him. "Matsumoto!"

"You called, Taicho?" she asked.

"I have reason to believe there were multiple targets."

"Who else?"

"Airi."

Matsumoto's eyes went wide.

--

Ulquiorra had taken Airi and Grimmjow to the human world. He hadn't gone back to Hueco Mundo since his failure. Even now that he had retrieved the girl he had been ordered to protect, he couldn't tolerate returning in failure and disgrace. It had taken him all of four days to make up his mind as to what to do, and it hadn't been without help.

-Flashback-

The shinigami were about to over power him, but they didn't seem to know that as they attacked again. The blow made him stagger backwards a few steps. In the few seconds he was recovering, the shinigami disappeared back into the soul society's gates. The fourth espada found himself unable to swallow his pride and return to Hueco Mundo in dishonor. Instead he wandered aimlessly around the town, concealing his aura.

It was late evening of the second day when, "Hey there! What's an espada doing away from Las Noches so long?" a man standing in the air asked him from behind.

Ulquiorra whirled around, prepared to attack.

"Well…?" The man was almost as tall as Ulquiorra, not counting the espada's mask. He had blond hair cut at a constant level just above his shoulders.

The fourth espada glared at the intruder on his thoughts.

"You failed your mission and can't bear going back, is that it?" Shinji Hirako knew he was right; he and the other Vizards had been keeping close watch on the action lately and knew exactly what was going on. In fact, only a few hours ago had they decided it was worth a shot to recruit the nomadic arrancar. "You do realize that if you don't save the other two, soul society will kill them," the Vizard leader pointed out.

Of course Ulquiorra knew that, after all an arrancar was just a more powerful version of a hollow, which their job was to destroy.

"We can get you there, but you'll have to go alone. In return all I ask is that you join us; the Vizards. We're not all that different after all. Half shinigami, half hollow. We just became that way in a different order."

Ulquiorra remained unresponsive.

"Well, I'll let you mull it over, just remember there's' not much time, large things are happening and you need to decide who's side you are on." With that Shinji left the fourth espada to his thoughts.

A few days later, Ulquiorra had shown up at the Vizard's hideout, leaving them all stunned that the fourth espada would even have considered joining them. And so he'd gone and rescued the two arrancar.

-End Flashback-

--

Matsumoto and the others, except Unohana and Isane, showed up to investigate.

"What happened!?" Zezuri rushed over to them and asked.

"They're gone, another espada came and got him. Is Airi here?" Toshiro asked.

Zezuri shook her head no. "T-they… left… right?" she asked.

"Yes, their presence is long gone."

Zezuri was stunned as to why they would leave her behind. She knew that she would just be a burden, but it didn't seem fair. Would they come back for her?

--

"Ulquiorra, what the hell is going on and where are we going?" Grimmjow burst out suddenly after ten minutes of walking the streets in silence. "Don't tell me you haven't been back to Las Noches."

The dark-haired arrancar remained silent, at a loss as to how to phrase how Aizen's most loyal espada was the first one to betray him.

Airi was also wondering were they were going, but didn't say anything. Ulquiorra was carrying her still; he knew she hadn't been allowed to get out of bed for four straight days. Airi would need some time to recover from that as well. They turned a corner and stopped in front of a large warehouse.

"What the heck is this place?" asked Grimmjow, noting the barrier surrounding it.

"The base of the Vizards," the fourth espada stated.

"WHAT? Are you telling me you've gone traitor?"

"In a manner of speaking."

Grimmjow looked as if the apocalypse was imminent.

"Do you have a problem with this?"

"No, I always thought if anyone would jump ship it would have been me."

"Does that matter?"

"Not really."

"Yo, Ulquiorra-san! Are you coming in?" Shinji stepped out of the barrier, as Ulquiorra flinched at the nickname. Shinji walked over to the trio of arrancar.

"Welcome to the Vizards!" he said with a dorky grin.

"Wait, I never agreed to this," protested Grimmjow.

"You really don't have a choice."

Grimmjow scowled, realizing the Vizard was right.

"And what about you?" Shinji asked Airi.

"I-I'm fine with it."

"Great!" The four entered the old warehouse.

--

The next day rolled around after everything was fixed from the breakout. Zezuri awoke and her thoughts streamed through her head again. Thinking that she would get to visit Airi or Grimmjow reminded her of last night, which led her to doubting they'd be back if they'd left her here. Was she to remain in the Seireitei forever? She felt bad doubting the two people she loved most. Zezuri hoped that they would be back for her, but how they would was near impossible.Seeing that she was already awake, he entered.

There was a knock on her door and Renji slid it open to see if she was up.

"Renji… good morning…" Zezuri greeted the lieutenant.

"What's wrong?" he asked noticing the sadness in her voice.

"Am I going to be stuck here forever?"

Renji was slightly taken aback by this question. "Well… I know we're keeping you here to protect you from Aizen, but we don't know what he wants from you… so it could be awhile.

"Yeah…" she let out a big sigh.She must have developed a severe case of Stockholm syndrome; he concluded and decided to change the subject.

"D-do you want to go back?" Renji hadn't seen her this depressed since she'd come here.

"Well… it's not that I want to go back… it's just… I had friends there too…"

"But, don't you like it here? We're your friends!" Renji protested.

"I have some important meetings to go to today, so Captain Kuchiki has arranged for you to spend the day at thirteenth division.

"Huh? Why?"

"He's confident in his sister's ability to be able to guard you, but he'll never admit that."

--

"I don't care ya aren't happy 'bout it! You're part of our group so ya gotta act like it!"

"I don't care! I didn't want to be part of this in the first place."

"Deal wit' it!"

Airi woke up in time to see a short, blonde Vizard whack Grimmjow across the face with her sandal.

Grimmjow growled at the short Vizard.

"What's this? The kitty wants ta fight me?"

"You little brat!" Grimmjow and the girl drew their swords.

"What's all this racket for so early in the morning?" Shinji entered the large part of the warehouse from a smaller room. "Hiyori, Grimmjow, if you're going to fight, at least put a barrier up so our base doesn't get totaled," He walked over to the couch where Airi was now attempting to sit up on. "Ah, so the third one is awake now, good morning!"

Airi was still a bit groggy, but quite intent on getting herself up.

"Need help?" the Vizard leader asked.

"No," Airi attempted again, inwardly cursing herself, "…Maybe…"

Shinji quickly pulled Airi up.

"Thanks…"

"No problem," He gave her his trademark grin. Airi subconsciously put a hand to her neck to fidget with the collar.

"Here, let me remove that," Shinji put his hand up to the red collar. It broke apart at his touch. "Must have been rough, the prisoner of soul society and an arrancar."

Already Airi trusted the Vizard even thought she had just met him, so she told her story from the start to the present as Hiyori and Grimmjow fought each other in front of them.

The other Vizards and Ulquiorra were watching from the balcony. "My money's on Hiyori!" declared one with a black almost-afro hairstyle.

"What? No way, Love! You can't change you bet halfway through the fight," protested the green haired, female Vizard, Mashiro. "Who do you think will win, Ulquiorra?" she asked. Ulquiorra watched but did not say a word.

--

"Captain Kuchiki has a sister?" asked Zezuri as they walked to the 13th division.

"Yeah, I grew up with her in the districts. We went to the academy together, then… the Kuchiki family took her in," Renji explained.

"Oh."

They finally arrived at the 13th division building.

"CAPTAIN! THEY'RE HERE!" a girl with white gloves shouted so loud that Renji and Zezuri's ears rung.

"Hey! I was going to tell the captain!" another soul reaper argued.

"Well, too bad! I already did! So get in line!" The two shouted back and fourth.

"Kiyone, Sentaro, please stop shouting, it's shaking the walls…" Ukitake appeared in the doorway.

The two soul reapers straightened themselves as their captain spoke.

"Hey, Captain, Ukitake, where's-" Renji was interrupted by a voice behind him.

"You're late Renji," Rukia stated.

"Rukia!" Renji whirled around.

"Why so late? Didn't want to leave her, did you?" Rukia teased.

"Shut up! She needed to eat first!"

"Staling?" Rukia asked.

"Yes, I mean NO!" frustration twisted Renji's words and confused him.

"Is this how people get along here?" Zezuri thought, then giggled slightly.

"What?" Rukia and Renji turned their attention to her.

"Grimmjow did that a lot…"

"Who?" asked Rukia.

"Oh, no one…" Zezuri said. I have a feeling it's what he's doing right now, she continued in thought.

--

Shinji eventually broke up the fight and Grimmjow went to pout in a corner with a large red mark on his face from the sandal. His hand brushed against his picket as he sat down. "Huh?" he reached his hand in and pulled out Zezuri's hair clip. He gazed at it for a long time.

"Hey, what's he doing?" the green haired Vizard, Mashiro, whispered to Airi. The group was all surrounding the large couch now, save for Grimmjow.

"I don't know. What is he holding?"

"Something green and plastic."

"A hairclip?"

"Possibly?"

"It's Zezuri's, but how he got it, I don't know."

"Who's Zezuri?"

Airi found herself retelling her story for the second time that day. During this round, Shinji pulled Hiyori aside and held a separate conversation. Airi didn't notice their occasional glances at her.

"Aw, he's thinking about her!" Mashiro squealed. Grimmjow only gave them a sad glare and shoved the clip back in his pocket.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Questions? Comments?


	29. Hope Was Just a Lie

**Bleached: Ep. 29**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Sorry, I'm so forgetful about posting this stuff. Zezuri doesn't have a computer at the moment, so I'm doing all the work. -Airi_

* * *

Rukia took Zezuri outside as Renji left. Kiyone and Sentaro had nothing better to do and neither did their captain, so they all sat on the lawn. "We've never been properly introduced, I'm Rukia Kuchiki," she stated.

"I'm Zezuri."

"These two here are Kiyone and Sentaro, they're both third seat of this division.

"Hey, we can introduce ourselves!" They yelled indignantly.

As they squabbled, Rukia laughed, as did the captain. "This is my taicho, Jushiro Ukitake," Rukia introduced the tall man with long white hair.

He greeted Zezuri with a soft wave. "Sorry about my third seats, they mean well, but they're always like that, I'm afraid."

"Um…" started Zezuri.

Jushiro smiled, "I know, you're wondering why I'm not at the captains' meeting. I wasn't feeling all that well this morning and I've been ordered by Unohana 'not to push myself'".

Zezuri got the impression he didn't like following the doctor's orders too much.

"Don't feel bad, taicho!" yelled Kiyone.

"Yeah, who needs to go to a stuffy meeting anyways," added Sentaro.

--

Airi, come here." Hiyori ordered after her discussion with Shinji.

The blonde arrancar grimaced; she knew that since she hadn't been on her feet in about five days this wouldn't go well. With her left arm, the non-broken one, she managed to get off the couch and to her feet, but her first step proved too much and she fell flat on her face. Or, she would have if Ulquiorra hadn't caught her. "Thanks," Airi's face was red with embarrassment, "I can manage," she lied through her teeth.

"Pathetic!" shouted Hiyori, earning a quick glare from Airi. "Can't even walk, jeez, wonder what Sosuke ever saw in her."

That remark hit a nerve, even though Airi didn't have an answer for this question. She pulled herself from Ulquiorra's grasp and half ran, half staggered to the short Vizard, who gave her a cocky smirk.

"Fight me!" she challenged.

Shinji sighed and shook his head, Hiyori's way of doing things was always the violent way.

--

"I've been hearing your stories. You and those arrancar are all the seireitei talks about, just like when the ryoka came," Stated Jushiro.

"Ryoka?"

"Ichigo, a substitute shinigami came to save Rukia along with his friends when Aizen showed his true colors. Now that we see he's been using humans to make arrancar we have no idea what he's up to," he explained.

"But, he never turned you into an arrancar, yet, what did he want with you?" Rukia wondered.

"I don't' know…" Zezuri shook her head.

"But those two… they were really… your friends?" Kiyone said, worried.

Zezuri nodded again with a slight smile.

Rukia gazed at Zezuri with sympathy. Rukia understood for she also had unlikely friends who risked their life for he, even if they were human.

--

Airi and Hiyori drew their swords. Airi knew this wasn't a good idea; she couldn't move all that well and there was a high risk of her shoulder breaking open again where it had healed, but something in her mind urged her to fight.

"Let's skip the boring part; come at me full strength!" shouted Hiyori summoning her mask.

Airi stared at her opponent in amazement; many new questions filled her mind as hope began to re-kindle itself. However, now wasn't the time for such thoughts, Hiyori charged at Airi. Without hesitation, Airi released her sword and blocked the blow easily with her left arm. The Vizard flashed away and attacked again from above. Airi took off from the ground, her wings helping her get extra lift, and met Hiyori's sword with equal ferocity. The impact sent shockwaves through the air, back on the ground Hachi increased the barrier level. The opponents pushed off from each other and were thrown backwards to the walls. The Vizard managed to stop before impact, but the arrancar wasn't as fortunate as she hit the wall.

"Had enough?" taunted Hiyori. Her response was Airi's charge at her. The two clashed swords again, twice as hard this time; Airi heard a snap come from her right shoulder. The pain caused her to lose her released form and her concentration; she found herself falling again.

However, she didn't find herself on the ground when she opened her eyes. A pair of arms held her securely.

"Thanks," she muttered fighting back the urge to scream in pain.

"Nice save, Ulquiorra!" applauded Rose.

Hiyori descended to the ground, her hollow mask disappearing as she did. "Hachi," she addressed the large, pink-haired man, "Fix up her injuries."

The other Vizard nodded and approached Ulquiorra and Airi.

"Set her on the ground and I'll heal her."

The former espada complied.

As Hachi slowly healed Airi's thrice broken shoulder Kensei walked over, "Not bad, considering your initial condition," he complemented.

"Are you all like that?" Airi asked, expecting not to get an answer.

"You mean the hollow mask?"

Airi nodded to the best of her ability.

"Yeah, we're all former shinigami who have hollow powers."

"How did that happen?" "That's not something we like to remember, let's just leave it at 'it was a long time ago'".

Grimmjow had watched the entire battle and was also curious about the masks.

--

"Zezuri," the captain started, becoming serious, "How exactly were you transported to Hueco Mundo?"

A half hour passed from Zezuri's arrival and Jushiro sent Sentaro and Kiyone to get some tea.

"Why?" Zezuri asked, wondering why the thirteenth captain had become so concerned.

"I'll explain after you answer," he stated firmly.

"I don't really remember all that well, I remember Tosen, was it? He caused the air to split in two and then Grimmjow carried me through. I passed out right after that."

Ukitake looked at her very concerned.

"W-what's wrong?" Zezuri was beginning to panic now.

"You didn't go through a converter…" he muttered.

"Converter?" she asked.

"A device that would have allowed you to remain living if you had gone back."

"W-wait! Are you saying I'm… I'm dead?! I've got a heartbeat!"

"In a sense, yes, you are, but death in your world equals life here. All of us have heartbeats too."

"But the arrancar don't!"

"That's because they are missing their hearts."

"T-then what does this mean?"

"You are at a point in between a human and a shinigami. With a bit of training, I've got no doubt you could get into one of the thirteen court guard companies."

Zezuri was taken aback a little at how he was planning out her future. "But- but- I don't have time for that… I gotta… get home… and I have to… save Airi… and…" Tears fell from her eyes, she knew going home and saving Airi was out of the question. And what was she planning to do about Grimmjow? She was in no position to make demands since she'd been left here without knowing anything about where they had gone. But, she guessed they were all back in Las Noches.

--

It was late evening now and Hachi had finished healing Airi around an hour ago. She was about to fall asleep on the couch when she sensed some movement by the door.

A white uniformed figure was about to walk outside.

Airi got up.

Sensing the movement of the girl, the figure stopped and gave her time to catch up. As she got closer, Airi saw it was Ulquiorra. "You're going back to Las Noches, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"I won't try to stop you… I just…" Airi's voice trailed off, "I wanted to… Thanks, for saving me."

Ulquiorra stood there emotionlessly.

"It wasn't just saving me from Soul Society, you've been protecting me since… I was captured," she looked at her feet, embarrassed it had taken her this long to thank him. "So, um, thanks… thanks for looking out for me, even if it was on orders."

"Save your emotions," Ulquiorra spoke in a monotone, "the next time we meet, we'll be enemies." He turned and left as silent as a shadow.

"So, he never intended to join us in the first place, think he'll keep this place a secret?" Shinji stepped out from the shadows. He put a hand on Airi's shoulder as tears silently fell down her face; Ulquiorra's last comment had dealt a heavy blow.

Shinji stood there with Airi until she calmed down, "I don't think I'll be able to fight him," she muttered, "He's too strong…"

"Try not to worry about that, he's stronger than most of us." Shinji wasn't smiling; in fact he looked concerned. "Tomorrow, we're going to fix your problem," he said tapping her mask fragments, "So, get some sleep."

* * *

Haha! Got ya, didn't we! Ulquiorra going tratior... wrong! (Though we seriously did consider the possibility, but his "loyalty issues" as we call them are too strong). Thanks for reading!


	30. First Thing in the Morning

**Bleached: Ep. 30**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Well... it looks like my one shot is more sucessful than this story... why does everyone have a grudge against OCs? Wait, I used to be that way... -Airi_

* * *

Early the next morning, Renji woke Zezuri up, "The taicho wants to speak with you."

"About what?" Zezuri asked groggily; she hadn't slept well. After all, her mind was still attempting to digest all of the information she'd been given yesterday.

As they made their way through the division the sun was just beginning to rise.

"Must be important, if it's this early in the morning," she mumbled.

"I don't know what it's about, but I'd agree with you, for the captain to want to see someone this early."

They found Byakuya standing in front of his desk looking like he was half asleep.

"Good morning, Taicho," Renji bowed in greeting.

"Y-you wanted to see me?" Zezuri asked nervously.

"Zezuri," he started, "I'd like you to sort this paperwork with Renji for me," He said as he pointed to a few mountainous stacks of paper.

He woke us up this early for this? Both Renji and Zezuri were shocked.

Byakuya headed for the door. "I expect it done by the end of the day," Byakuya always had a reason for anything he did. Today he needed to discuss what to do with the girl with the other captains and wanted her to be somewhere he could find her quickly. The paperwork was actually Hitsugaya Toshiro's who had been more than happy to give it to him.

Renji held up a sheet of instructions. "Reports concerning 1st division go in the red box, second orange… agh! How are we supposed to remember all these instructions?!" Renji was trying to figure out al l the categories as Zezuri found the boxes behind Byakuya's desk. Renji picked up a stack of papers and started to go through them, "These, are Captain Hitsugaya's papers, what're they doing here?"

--

A few hours had passed and now the sun was higher in the sky. Renji and Zezuri finally had a system going when, "Wait… this one is 8th squad's repot… but it concerns 9th as well, what do we do with it?" Zezuri wondered looking at the report again, it was old; the paper was yellowed with age. According to the date it was from eight years ago. "I didn't realize paperwork could be such a big job."

"It wouldn't be if everyone turned it in on time," Renji admitted, "That's the real challenge," He took the report from her, "Eighth squad, they're always slow with the paper work." He put the paper in the eight box.

As the paper hit the bottom of the box, Byakuya reappeared in the doorway.

--

Airi awoke late in the morning the next day. Getting up from the couch she looked around and didn't see anyone, but there was a large square of the floor missing. Curious, she went over to it and looked down. A staircase led down into the hole and ended in a patch of light. Hearing the voices of the Vizards, she walked carefully down the stairs and found herself in a huge cavern, with a blue painted ceiling that made it seem as if it were outside.

"Have some breakfast!" Shinji greeted her with a plate full of hash browns.

"Hey… where's Grimmjow?" she asked; now realizing she didn't see him.

"I'm guessing he left too." Shinji responded. "Most likely right after Ulquiorra."

Airi was now as ditched as Zezuri.

--

Back in Las Noches…

"Ulquiorra… you've returned," Aizen said plainly. They were in his throne room, all of the espada, except Grimmjow, were there, as well as Gin and Tosen. "My apologies sir," Ulquiorra bowed.

"Fortunately for you, I must overlook you failure. We have more important matters to attend to and I'm going to need your powers," Aizen explained.

"Sir… Then you don't need the two young ladies then?" Gin asked.

"Oh, but I do…"

Before Aizen could finish, Grimmjow walked through the large double doors and walked from behind Ulquiorra and stood before Aizen.

"Good, you have returned as well, I knew you would get back eventually. Now I have all my espada."

"Finally made it back, Grimmjow? Heh, you are heartless, you forgot about that girl you-"

"Shut it, Luppi!" Grimmjow growled.

"Now, now, back down both of you. There wasn't anything he could do about that," Aizen said.

"Heh, that's because he's weak. You've gone soft and become pathetic, Grimmjow."

Grimmjow glared at Luppi and had a hard time preventing himself from cero-ing the feminine arrancar on the spot.

"Save your strength Grimmjow. We have three shards and the last one is just within our reach. We'll be getting Zezuri back soon as well. I'm declaring war on the Soul Society sooner than they expected," Aizen announced.

A few arrancar chuckled.

"We are going to finally destroy the Soul Society and retrieve the fourth shard, so you will all need to be at full power for the final battle with the shinigami," he ordered.

Grimmjow wasn't sure about this, but he was sure that Aizen's plan meant putting Zezuri in danger. However, he remained silent. He would get back to the Soul Society and find Zezuri first to make sure she was safe.

--

At that moment Zezuri found herself training with the lieutenants of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th squads as well as Rukia. Byakuya and the other captains had decided on Renji and Zezuri training to be prepared for another attack. They were in a field just outside of 13th division, where some targets had been set up.

Renji was taking his turn, carefully analyzing the location of the targets before starting the incantation. A red blast of fire shot from his hands and missed the target over the top.

"Looks like someone's aim hasn't gotten any better since the academy," teased Momo, laughing at the red haired lieutenant.

"Zezuri, your turn," he said ignoring Momo's laughter.

Everyone watched as the girl approached the line to attack from. Zezuri held up one hand, thought a bout what spell she wanted to use as released it. A blue streak of lightning burst forth and destroyed the target.

"Wow…" Izuru muttered as the five shinigami stared in awe.

Rukia and Renji had already seen first hand what Zezuri was capable of and knew that was one of her lesser spells. "So powerful, but how?" Rukia whispered to Isane.

"She said something about being taught by Aizen himself."

That would explain the black coffin attach she used, thought Rukia to herself.

Renji made a mental note to ask the girl fro some pointers when he got the chance.

--

"What do I do with this?" Airi asked Shinji, indicating her plate after finishing her breakfast.

"The sink's over there," he pointed across the rocky terrain where sure enough a lone kitchen counter stood equipped with a sink.

Airi put her plate in the sink and walked back over to Shinji, unsure of what he had in store for her. Her thoughts still lingered on last night, Ulquiorra's departure and Shinji's words played over and over in an endless loop.

"Are you ready?" The Vizard asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"For what?"

"To remove this," again he tapped the fragments in her hair.

Why was he always so… so touchy? Wondered Airi; maybe it was just her over-reacting. "How?" she asked, "I didn't think it was reversible."

"Vizards are shinigami who became half hollow," he explained indicating himself, "Arrancar are hollows who have removed their masks and obtained the powers of a shinigami."

"Okay…" said Airi, not sure where the Vizard was going with this.

"You, an arrancar, are about 1/3 shinigami and 2/3 hollow. All you need to do is fix that ratio."

"What?"

"You need to become more like a shinigami."

"How do I do that?"

"You have to truly release your zanpakto."

Airi looked at her sword confused.

"Currently you only know its resurrected name, you need to find its true name."

"I'm confused."

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out," Shinji gave Airi a grin. "The best way to do that is by fighting of course," he turned to Hachi, "We're going to need another barrier and could you seal her resurrection form?"

Hachi nodded and cast the necessary spells.

A strange light hit Airi, suddenly she felt as if a large portion of her mind had been severed from her consciousness.

"Anyone want to fight Airi?" Shinji called out.

Hiyori stood up, "Sure, I'll beat her into a pulp again!" The shortest Vizard drew her sword with a smirk creeping across her face.

Airi wasn't sure how long she could hold out against this opponent; yesterday's battle had shown her just how big a gap in strength there was between the two, but on one had she had been quite injured.

Drawing her sword, Airi was just in time to block Hiyori's first blow.

--

It was now lunch break, so the group of six went inside.

"Hey, Zezuri," Renji paused.

"Hmm?" She turned.

"I need to get better with my kido…" he looked a little embarrassed.

"Y-you want my help?" she asked.

"Ummm… I mean… if you're not busy…" he blushed slightly.

"S-sure," she smiled. Renji turned to a target.

"Okay, teach me how you do it," he demanded. Zezuri walked over and took one of his hands and held it toward the target. "Fist, don't force yourself to focus so hard, trying too hard could make the spell back fire," she explained.

Renji had plenty of experiences of back firing spells already, but now he found himself more focused on Zezuri gently holding up his hand. Her touch was as soft as her voice.

"Renji?" Zezuri noticed him spacing out.

"I-I'm ready!" he jumped back to reality.

"If it makes it better, focus on something you want to protect, what you are fighting for. It helps me," she continued.

"Hmm…" Renji paused then started the incantation, another red blast of fire shot from his hand, but it was stronger and brighter than before, so much that it took out two other targets next to the one he was aiming for.

Zezuri stared shocked before the others rushed out.

"W-what happened!?" Momo asked concerned.

* * *

Thanks for reading! That was about the hardest chapter to write... Airi's part at least. Review, comment, something? Please?


	31. A New Start

**Bleached: Ep. 31**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Hi everyone! I'm glad to see we've picked up a few more readers! I'm so happy! Sorry about the wait, I was on vacation and Z doesn't have a computer at the moment. -Airi_

* * *

The fight between Airi and Hiyori had been going on for ten minutes now. Hiyori, after a few blows, had summoned her mask and was at a clear advantage.

Airi's instincts were telling her to release her resurrection form, at one point she had even attempted to do so, but found she couldn't remember how.

Hiyori swung a fast blow that grazed Airi's shoulder.

Crap, thought Airi, I can't focus on this fight and think at the same time! She swung her sword back at Hiyori who ducked under and scared another blow to Airi's waist.

"Doesn't look like she's doing too well…" observed Love.

"Don't count the fight over yet," Shinji watched the fight with interest.

"It's going to be over soon if Hiyori doesn't start holding back," Lisa looked up from her book briefly and then went back to reading.

--

"Renji? Did you do that?" questioned Izuru.

"Umm… yeah…" Renji was amazed with himself, he'd just taken out three of the targets at once.

After that they all went inside to eat lunch.

"Wow, I can't believe Zezuri managed to teach you kido," Rukia said half amazed, half sarcastic.

"Is that an insult?!"

"Did I say it as an insult?"

"Well, it sounded like it!" They continued arguing.

"How did you do it, Zezuri?" Isane questioned.

"Huh?"

"Renji was never good at kido, but he just took out three targets at once!" Momo said.

"I… don't know…" responded Zezuri.

--

Airi was wearing out quickly; the fight had been going on for close to 20 minutes now. She had been catching fragment of a voice in her head; her sword was calling out to her again, but this time something was different. Suddenly, she heard it; the true name. Hiyori charged again at Airi. "Sonaratang!" Airi yelled. The mask fragments shattered and fell to the ground from Airi's hair. She felt a warm sensation and a long lost, but not forgotten pulse begin again.

Hiyori hadn't had time to stop her charge, but Airi had blocked it with her sword before either of them knew what was happening.

The sword had changed again; this time it had the shape of a normal sword. Glowing yellow lines pulsed through the metal and sparks fell freely from the hilt.

"Congrats, you're a Vizard," remarked Hiyori, she pulled back her sword and sheathed it.

Airi stared at the sword in her hand. So this is what it's supposed to look like, she thought before putting it in its scabbard.

--

After lunch, Zezuri, Rukia, and the lieutenants went back outside for more practice.

"Bet you can't do it again, Mr. Eyebrows!" Rukia taunted.

"Yeah? Wanna bet? Watch this!" Renji's anger got away with him and his spell backfired.

"KABOOM!"

"Ah!" Everyone fell over from the explosion.

"S-sorry…" muttered Renji, his face as red as his hair.

Isane cast some healing spells on the group, "Focus next time," she moaned.

"Nice going, Renji," sarcastically remarked Rukia picking herself off the ground.

Momo and Izuru were holding back their laughter as Rukia scolded Renji in length.

Zezuri watched the group, feeling at a distance, her thoughts drifted to Grimmjow and Airi, as she assumed, back at Las Noches.

"What's wrong?" Isane asked noticing Zezuri's distant expression.

"Nothing, just thinking… about my friends."

Rukia was finishing scolding Renji now and walked over to Zezuri with Renji in tow. "Next time actually listen to your instructor and remember what she says! Now apologize."

"I-I'm sorry, Zezuri."

"Huh? You don't have to apologize!"

"I should have listened better," he bowed his head in shame.

"I-it's alright Renji, I can teach you some more, if you want…"

"I-I'd appreciate that."

--

Grimmjow wandered the hallways of Las Noches thinking to himself. "Damn, what am I going to do? Aizen is more powerful… he'll be sure to get Zezuri before I can and he's too powerful for me to fight by myself," he thought in his head. "Damn it!" he shouted in frustration and pounded his fist in to the wall.

"Thinking about your girl-friend?" mused Luppi, "I honestly didn't expect you to come back."

Grimmjow ignored the other arrancar's taunts and walked off down the hallway.

--

"You want me to what?" asked Airi, in total shock. It had been a few hours since she'd regained her normal state. No longer did she fell her mind slipping out of her control. Hiyori and Mashiro had gone out and bought Airi some new clothes as well as a gigai. Now that she was a Vizard, she might as well dress like one. What had surprised her more than the gigai was the second outfit in the bag; a school uniform.

"You might as well, you didn't get to finish school before you were captured," stated Shinji, "I'm going as well; to keep tabs on another member."

"But, I… I don't speak Japanese!"

Shinji laughed, "You have been ever since we met!"

"What? How? I never learned it!"

"I'm not entirely sure, but you haven't had a problem with understanding anyone yet, have you?"

"No."

"Okay, then you've got no other problems with this?"

Airi thought for a moment, "Aren't Japanese schools a lot harder than American ones?"

"Could be, I wouldn't know, but we're in the 9th grade class."

"I don't think I'll pass as a freshman, I'm a- I was a senior…"

"I really don't think they'll notice." Eventually the Vizard leader talked the reluctant girl into going.

--

Back in Soul Society, the five lieutenants, Rukia, and Zezuri were eating dinner, "So, Rukia, don't you have to go to school tomorrow?" Momo asked.

"Yep, the weekend is over."

"What about you Renji?"

Rukia laughed, "He's excused from school starting tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because I'm in charge of looking after Zezuri," Renji stated.

Zezuri was stunned. Why did she need looking after? She had been left behind, so didn't' that mean Aizen didn't want her? But, then why had she been captured in the first place then? So many questions were left unanswered. As for the Soul Reapers, they knew Aizen better, maybe had more clues of some scheme of his that she didn't see?

--

The next day Shinji and Airi arrived at Karakura High School. Apparently the Vizards had gone through the trouble of making Airi's transfer look official. The homeroom teacher looked less than surprised when the new 'transfer student' showed up, after all, this was the eighth one this year.

Airi waited outside the classroom feeling odd wearing a school uniform, while she listened to the teacher take attendance.

"Does anyone know where Renji, Rangiku, Toshiro, and Ikkaku are?" the teacher asked.

"Ikkaku had to go visit his grandmother," said a voice Airi recognized vaguely.

"Okay, and the others?"

A girl's voice answered this time, "I'm afraid Renji, Hitsugaya and Rangiku all have the flu."

"Oh my!" exclaimed the teacher, "The flu, in this season? Well, let's hope none of the rest of us get sick," She paused for a moment. "Oh! That's right! We've got another transfer student!"

The door opened and Airi suddenly felt extremely nervous.

"You can come in now," the teacher gave her a smile.

Airi followed her into the classroom.

"Class, this is Airi Cinalta, a transfer student all the way from the United States."

Airi gave a quick bow, as Shinji had instructed her to beforehand. She sensed the class had their eyes on her and among them were at least three shinigami and several others with large amounts of spiritual energy.

"Why don't you write your name on the board for the class."

Airi panicked, but picked up the chalk; she was sure she didn't know how to write anything, let alone her name in Japanese. She raised her left hand and put the chalk on the board, only to find herself writing her name in perfect Kanji. She stared at it for a moment until the teacher spoke to her.

"How about you take the seat next to Yumichika, in the back." She pointed and Airi's eyes found where her teacher indicated.

She walked over to her desk, sat down, and was about to great the person sitting next to her when she actually looked at him. It was the shinigami she'd fought on numerous occasions; he too was now staring at her in shock. "Uh… hello," she managed, wondering what thoughts were running through his mind. Surely he wouldn't attack her here, it was a school after all.

Yumichika managed a smile in response, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Airi looked around the classroom to see Shinji giving her a quick wave while Ichigo and Rukia exchanged shocked glances with Yumichika. Airi recognized both of the other shinigami as well. She made a mental note to be on her guard around here.

--

Zezuri walked down the halls that same morning wondering why Renji hadn't come to wake her up like normal. She found Byakuya at his desk, "Captain… where is Renji?" she asked.

"He is training in the courtyard," Byakuya stated.

Zezuri look around confused.

"Out back." Byakuya pointed in said direction without looking up from his paperwork.

Zezuri skipped out and found Renji outside. "Good morning Renji!" She waved, startling him; he looked around then saw her waving.

"Oh! Good morning!" His zanpakto returned to normal form as he rushed over to her.

"You didn't wake me up this morning?"

"Well, I thought you could use the extra rest, you seemed tired after kido training yesterday," he scratched his head nervously, slightly blushing.

Renji and Zezuri started some more kido training soon after this. Renji never failed to hit the target while she talked him through it.

--

Class was now out for lunch and Airi found herself unsure of what to do. She had her lunch and was going to eat with Shinji, but Ichigo had dragged him off before she'd been able to approach him. Airi was sure she knew what the orange-haired guy was talking to him about.

She figured no one would mind if she just ate lunch at her desk and was about to when, "C'mon Cinalta-san, you should come eat lunch with us!" A very happy red-haired girl gently tugged at her arm.

"Huh?" Shinji had neglected to mention the un-written law of Karakura high school that all the girls eat lunch together, no exceptions. Airi followed her classmates outside where they sat underneath a tree.

--

"Alright Renji! You didn't miss a target! I think you're getting better!" Zezuri cheered.

"Yeah," Renji wiped away some of the sweat from his brow.

"You know, You're not as shy as you used to be," Renji commented.

"R-really?"

"I don't know… it just feels that way."

"Well, I think it's because I trust you, Renji."

An awkward silence followed.

"Uh.." Stated Renji.

"What?" asked Zezuri.

"Care to go for some tea again?"

"S-sure!"

--

"So, Citnalta-san, you seem to know Hirado-kun pretty well…" started one of the girls.

"Orihime, aren't you being a bit quick with the questions?" asked another.

"Oh! You're right, Tatsuki! I'm sorry, Citnalta-san."

"It's okay," Airi already had expected these kinds of questions, "You don't have to call me 'Citnalta-san' either, just 'Airi' will be fine."

"Okay then, Airi. How do you know Hirado-kun?"

"Orihime!"

"Sorry! I was curious."

Just then Rukia walked over to the group, "Mind if I join in?"

"Rukia, you're always so formal. You know you don't have to ask!" said one of the other girls.

Rukia laughed, "Sorry, I always forget," she glanced at Airi, "Citnalta-san has joined us?" The shinigami in disguise asked, intrigued.

"Yep!" Orihime nodded, "I invited her!"

"Mind if I sit by you?" Rukia asked Airi.

She shook her head in response, trying her best not to look scared.

"Airi, are you okay? You look nervous," Tatsuki asked with mild concern.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just nervous for next hour, history, right?"

The other girls nodded.

Airi laughed nervously, "I'm afraid I don't know much about Japanese history…"

"Really?" asked Orihime.

"No, I came from the USA, after all."

"Why'd you come here, just out of curiosity?" asked Rukia wondering what kind of cover-up story the blonde girl would use.

"I've always wanted to go to Japan, so I convinced… my parents to let me come here," Airi was struggling to retain control of her emotions.

"Where are you staying?" asked Tatsuki.

"W-with Shinji, I mean Hirado-kin's family. Our families have been friends for years." It was the biggest lie Airi had ever told in her life and right now she wanted nothing more than to cry, felling insanely homesick.

"I'm amazed, Airi," Rukia stated, an evil glint in her eyes.

"You're Japanese is flawless."

"U-um thanks, I've b-been learning it since I was very small." Another lie, but Airi had absolutely no answer for this one.

The girls all finished eating their lunches and went back to class.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Sorry it took me so long to update! Let me know how you liked this chapter!


	32. People Remembered & Things Forgotten

**Bleached: Ep. 32**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri_

_Note: Hey everyone! I'm really going to try to keep this updated, but that might be a bit of a problem... college... ehehe... -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri drank her tea calmly, not noticing Renji's awkwardness. The tea was warm and soothing and all her troubles were washed away for the moment.

Jaime, the guy who owned the place, walked over to their table, "Sooo… how's it goin', Zezuri-kun?" He smiled, sitting with them.

Zezuri smiled back. "I'm fine, thank you."

Jaime looked over at Renji, who was staring at the table. "Hey, Abarai? Lost in thought?" Jaime nudged him with his elbow.

"Huh? What?"

"Oh, I see how it is, you'd rather have a telepathic conversation with the table," Jaime turned back to Zezuri. "Did something happen to him?"

"I-I don't know, he started being silent after Kido practice."

"Is that so…?" a sly grin came across the teashop owner's face. "Renji's got a crush!" he teased the red haired shinigami.

Renji's face turned bright red.

Jaime laughed, "Looks like I was right."

Treo walked out from the back room carrying a tray full of teacups. "Jaime, stop harassing the customers," she admonished him.

Seeing Renji's expression made Zezuri turn bright red as well and Jaime's teasing made her more shocked.

"I-it's not like that! We're… we're just friends!" Renji protested.

"Lies! You're denying it! You should see your face! It says everything!" Jaime laughed so hard that he almost fell out of his seat until Treo smacked him on the head with her tray.

"Enough, Jaime! You're making them uncomfortable!" Treo turned to the two with a smile, "You two just continue your date, we're sorry."

"It's not a date!" Renji's face was redder than his hair as he slammed his fists on the table.

Treo dragged Jaime into the kitchen area leaving Renji and Zezuri in an awkward silence.

"I… er, um… we… need to get back before Captain Kuchiki gets mad." Brilliant, thought Renji sarcastically, finally get to talk to her and that's what I say?

--

History was just as bad as Airi had feared, but English was a total shock. She'd opened a simple book made for students learning English only to find she couldn't read it. Letters she'd known all her life, all 26 of them, looked alien to her. Calm down, she told herself frantically, there's a logical explanation for this.

The teacher, fortunately for Airi, picked only a few students to read aloud and didn't seem to notice her.

When the first student stood up and read from his book Airi almost had a heart attack; she couldn't understand a word of it. All hour she stared at her book, trying to remember words, letters, grammar, anything, but it was all for naught; nothing came back to her.

Just before the bell rang to sound the end of the day, Yumichika, whom she'd been ignoring passed her a note. Airi unfolded the note to see fancy script written on the page, all in English. She was trying to see if any of this would come back to her when the bell rang. Yumichika got up and began to exit, "Wait!" she called after him, but her didn't hear her and kept walking.

Shinji walked over to her, a puzzled look on his face, "What was that about?"

Airi handed him the note. "What's this?"

"I don't know," Airi looked out of the window of the classroom, trying to hold back her tears. She didn't like to cry in front of people. "I can't read it…" she said after a pause, "I don't understand it."

Shinji looked at the note and scratched his head. "You can't read this, but… it's English."

"I know… It's just gone… all of it, I can't remember anything!" frustrated tears fell down her face, "I can read and write perfectly in Japanese, but English, it's gone…"

--

Grimmjow turned a corner and found Ulquiorra. "Ulquiorra…." He began.

"Why aren't you getting ready for the battle, Grimmjow?" the fourth espada asked.

"Hmph… 'cuz I came to ask you something…. why did you leave Airi there? Now she'll be forced to be our enemy, you said so yourself."

Ulquiorra paused as he looked at the ground.

--

Renji marched grumpily back to Squad 6 with Zezuri trying to keep up.

"R-Renji, slow down."

Renji just stopped walking abruptly, causing Zezuri to almost walk into him.

"W-what's wrong?" she asked nervously.

"Nothing…" he continued walking.

"R-Renji…. You're acting strange… w-what's the matter?" she asked again.

Renji sighed, "I… had a dream last night… or more of a nightmare…" he began.

"A nightmare?"

"Yeah, you… were being taken away… by Aizen… but when I finally reached you, you disappeared," Renji looked at the ground sadly as they stopped walking.

"Renji…" Zezuri placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Eh, it was just a dream…" Renji continued to walk again before stopping again. "But I won't let it happen… I'm going to protect you," he smiled.

--

"'You owe me some explanations'," Shinji read the last lines of the note aloud, "Sounds like he's got a grudge against you, do you know him?"

Airi and Shinji were walking back to the warehouse now.

"I… fought him… twice, back when…" she put a hand on her head where her mask had been.

"Did you injure him?"

"Not as badly as he got me."

"Hey! We're back!" Shinji called entering the warehouse, "Must be downstairs…" he muttered noting the sounds of a battle coming from the staircase.

"Four seconds, geez, yer slipping!" Hiyori was fighting with a person Airi had seen before, but not here.

A sandal suddenly flew into Shinji's face, "Shinji!" Hiyori had noticed her comrades' entrance, "Why didn't you tell Ichigo about her?" she pointed at Airi.

"I figured it'd be best if Airi told him herself."

"Fine," she turned to the orange haired Shinigami, "Ichigo, take a break while I knock some sense into this idiot."

Ichigo put his sword away and walked over to Airi. "I think you owe me an explanation," he stated.

"Apparently, I owe quite a few people explanations," Airi said nervously, "What should I start with?"

Ichigo thought for a moment, "Are you one of the arrancar who escaped from soul society?"

"I'm not an arrancar, well, I was, and yeah, I did escape from soul society." Airi glanced up at Ichigo. "I guess I should start from the beginning."

"No wonder you were terrified of Yumichika today," Ichigo said.

Airi nodded and pulled out the note the other shinigami had given her in class.

"Here, he gave me this note," she passed it to him. Ichigo read its contents quickly.

"I bet your escape has Soul Society in an uproar, normally he'd just ask a question out right," Ichigo hand the paper back to Airi, who looked at the note with much disdain.

"What's up?"

"I-I can't read the note, or remember any English…"

"Yo! Ichigo! Break's over! Time for more training!" Hiyori yelled.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Yeah, I know, lousy break... sorry. Anyways review!! Please!


	33. Tension Grows

**Bleached: Ep. 33**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Zezuri and Airi._

_Note: Look! Two days in a row of updates! Yay!! -Airi_

* * *

"Airi and Shinji! Good morning!" Orihime waved at them as they entered the classroom. There were twenty minutes still before class started; but already half the class was present.

"Airi, can we talk for a moment?" a voice behind Airi asked.

The girl turned around to see Rukia and Yumichika waiting by the door.

Airi exchanged a quick glance with Shinji before going over to the two shinigami.

They walked outside to one of the courtyards of the school.

"Who, or what are you exactly?" questioned Rukia, "I know you're that arrancar we fought a few times, the one that nearly killed me."

Airi looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, I-I was losing my mind at that point… A-are you going to take me back to Soul Society?"

Rukia nodded, "We're under orders and you're our enemy."

"I'm not an arrancar anymore!"

"We're not fully convinced of that, while you may not be an arrancar, you most certainly aren't a shinigami!"

"I won't go back with you, not as a prisoner, that's for sure!"

"Then we'll have to take you by force," stated Yumichika, releasing himself from his gigai. He drew his sword and swung it at Airi in one fluid motion.

Airi summoned her own sword and braced for impact at the same moment, but it never came. A blue bolt of light in the shape of an arrow crashed into the ground in front of the two shinigami and a yellow transpired triangle appeared in front of Airi. Orihime and a boy Airi recognized as a classmate stepped out from a doorway.

"Orihime, Ishida! What's the meaning of this?!" yelled Rukia.

"You shinigami have a bad habit of attacking defenseless girls," said Ishida, adjusting his rectangular glasses.

"Rukia, Yumichika-san, why are you attacking Airi? She's not trying to hurt you."

The warning bell rang.

Yumichika sighed, class was such a bore to him, but his record had to be flawless. He re-entered his gigai and headed for class with Rukia, "Well finish this later."

Airi stood up and made her sword vanish. "Thank you, Orihime, and…" she turned to the other classmate.

"Ishida, Uryu Ishida, I'm a Quincy and I detest shinigami."

"Oh, um… well, thanks for saving me."

"It's not a problem, really," insisted Orihime, "Ichigo and Shinji told us about you."

The three walked back to class together.

--

"Why does it matter, Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra asked sternly.

"Because Aizen needs Zezuri back and usually Airi and Zezuri are together, so if we have Airi then she'd be sure to find Zezuri." Grimmjow tried to explain.

Ulquiorra shook his head. "Aizen-sama doesn't need Airi, she would just get in the way and be extra baggage in Aizen-sama's plans. Just like you're starting to become." Ulquiorra pointed at Grimmjow. "You care about Zezuri so much that you are willing to defy Aizen-sama, I can see what you are up to. You're planning on using Airi to get Zezuri back for yourself, not for Aizen-sama. I'd watch your back; Aizen-sama knows this as well. Make a wrong move and I will eliminate you," the fourth espada's piercing green eyes stared straight into Grimmjow's shocking blue ones. Spiritual pressure filled the room from both sides as Grimmjow clenched his fist. "You've become so naïve and pathetic. You shouldn't be an espada," Ulquiorra commented.

"My, my, such negative energy… Did I come in at a bad time?" a sly, slithering voice, interrupted the argument.

"Gin… what do you want?" Grimmjow scowled.

"Well, I was drinking my tea until my cup broke from the spiritual pressure you two were emitting," he responded.

"Tch, it's nothing," Grimmjow said storming out of the room.

"Whatever did you say to him, Ulquiorra, he seems quite mad," Gin observed Grimmjow's departure.

--

Airi sat in her seat at the back of the classroom, watching Ichigo and Rukia passing a piece of paper back and forth every time the teacher looked away. From the looks of things Rukia wasn't happy about whatever Ichigo was telling her. Yumichika cast the occasional glare at Airi, but she ignored him, her thoughts on Zezuri; it had been almost a week since she'd seen her…

--

Zezuri was at fourth division again, helping Hanataro and Isane change the linens on the cots in the main room. Renji was sitting at a nearby desk, writing up his report for once in his life, having to file the small mountain of paperwork from tenth squad had made him turn over a new leaf for that habit.

"Renji… do you think the espada will attack us?" Momo asked out of the blue. She had stopped by fourth division to re-stock her personal first-aid kit, all lieutenants and captains had recently been ordered to carry some emergency supplies on them at all times.

"Hard to say when, but yeah, it's coming."

"But, why would they attack?" Zezuri asked.

"Aizen probably still needs something from here that he couldn't get before," Isane answered, tossing a clean sheet over a bed gently. Zezuri grabbed the other end and tucked it in. Momo stared distantly, her thoughts lingering on her Captain Aizen, lost forever it seemed.

"Momo?" asked Renji wondering if that was the glitter of tears he was seeing in her eyes.

"I'd better be getting back to my squad, they're clueless without me…"

No, thought Renji, you're clueless without your captain…

What am I going to do if the espada show up? What if Grimmjow came… Renji said he'd protect me… what should I do? Zezuri thought, a worried look crossing her face.

"Zezuri?" Isane noticed Zezuri's silence.

"Huh? Oh! It's nothing, I'm fine," Zezuri faked a smile.

"I'm going to grab more sheets," Isane said leaving the room.

"Alright," Zezuri sat down for a moment.

"Zezuri…" Renji stood up from the desk he was working at.

"What is it Renji?"

"You can stop faking it, I know you're scared," He stated.

Zezuri remained silent as she looked at the ground.

"I said I would protect you," he walked over and knelt down so he was at eye level with her. "And I will, so don't worry," he turned her head to face him.

"I-it's not that, Renji. I just… I don't want anyone to get hurt…" tears began to form in her eyes.

Suddenly Renji brought her into a tight embrace. "Please, don't cry… I know you've cried so much… because of that damn Aizen! But I won't let him hurt you… I won't let him hurt anyone… so please don't cry…"

Isane was about to walk in, until she saw the two, and went back to the hallway quietly. She knocked on the doorway, feeling it would be politer to give them a warning instead of startling the two and making everything awkward.

--

At lunch Airi sat with the other girls, trying to ignore Rukia's presence. Orihime tried to ignore the tension between the classmates. Ishida sat nearby keeping an eye on the group and working on his latest project.

The rest of the school day passed full of tension, but quite uneventfully. When the bell rang Airi had a hard time not running out of the classroom.

"What happened before school?" Shinji asked when they were outside of the school grounds.

"Rukia and Yumichika tried to take me back to Soul Society…. Ishida and Orihime saved me."

"I figured they'd try to pull something like that, but not this soon," Shinji sighed, "No doubt they'll send backup once they make a report."

Airi cringed, "What should I do?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you don't go off by yourself. Our classmates seem capable of defending you and you can defend yourself."

"Not if the captain s get involved," Airi muttered recalling her battle with Hitsugaya.

"Hey, don't forget the rest of us, we won't let them get one of our own!" Shinji exclaimed with much enthusiasm.

Airi gave him a small smile. In truth, part of her wanted to go to Soul Society to see Zezuri, but not as a captive.

Aizen held another meeting in his throne room at a very early hour the next morning. "Tomorrow, we start the attack."

--

Zezuri woke up as Renji knocked on her door. "Morning, Zezuri," He slid the door open.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"We have more training today, Captain Kuchiki believes the attack will happen very soon," Renji said. Zezuri paused.

"But, let's get some breakfast first."

--

Later, Zezuri and Renji were training with the others. Zezuri, Momo, and Isane practiced more with kido as Renji and Izuru sparred.

"Come and take a break you two!" Momo shouted, signaling it was lunchtime.

"Are you coming Renji?" Izuru asked.

"Nah, I'm gonna train some more."

Momo giggled and nudged Zezuri in the elbow, "Looks like he's still sore about the kido incident," she said completely misinterpreting Renji's actions.

--

It was evening now and Ichigo had once again shown up at the warehouse to train with the Vizards. "Sorry, Citnalta, I wasn't able to convince Rukia," Ichigo told Airi on his way in.

She sighed, "Thanks anyways, Kurosaki."

--

A few hours had passed and Renji hadn't come in for any food yet, so Zezuri had decided to take him some.

"Here, Renji." She handed a cup of water to him suddenly, startling him.

"Agh…" he winced with pain as he accidentally cut himself on his blade.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! Here!" She took his hand and healed his injury.

"It's alright, I know you didn't mean it," he laughed a little.

"There, all better," she said finished healing. She handed him the water. "I brought this out for you, are you sure you don't want to come in and eat?" Suddenly a beetle landed on her shoulder. "AH! A BUG! GET IT OFF!" she squirmed.

"Relax, it's harmless," Renji laughed at her.

"I-is it gone?" she asked nervously.

"Yep," Renji held out his finger on which a small red and black beetle sat.

Zezuri moaned looking at it.

"What?" asked Renji, "It's just a firefly."

The beetle opened its wings and took off from Renji's finger, glowing a soft yellow-green color.

"It's getting dark; we should get back soon."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Tell us what you think! Please review!!


	34. A Peaceful Day Interrupted

**Bleached: Ep. 34**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Who's up for two updates in one day? Huh? I don't know how tomorrow's going to go, so I'll do this while I've got time! -Airi_

* * *

Zezuri awoke abruptly as Renji opened her door the next morning. "What's going on?" she asked seeing the excitement in his eyes.

"Rukia and Yumichika are back for the day to report on things in the human world!"

They rushed over to 13th division right after breakfast and just in time for Rukia's return.

"Rukia!" Renji called out to his childhood friend.

She responded with a wave and a smile, "Hello Renji, hello Zezuri, I just finished giving my report to the head captain."

"How are things? And signs of arrancar activity?"

"Yes and no."

Renji stared, perplexed, "What does that mean?"

"There's a new transfer student at school."

"I didn't think anyone else was ordered over."

"That's the point."

"Well, tell us about them."

Rukia looked at Zezuri then at Renji, "Remember the female arrancar we had captured?"

Zezuri's eyes went wide, "Airi?!"

Rukia nodded, "It's her."

"Are you sure it isn't someone who just looks like her? How can she be seen by everyone? Arrancars aren't visible to normal humans and I've never hear of an arrancar using a gigai."

"There's no question in my mind, it's her, somehow. Yumichika and I attempted to re-capture her yesterday."

"What happened?" asked Zezuri.

"We failed, Ichigo's group interfered. Ishida and Orihime protected her. Ichigo is also in favor of her freedom. I'd expected the Quincy's objection, but not Ichigo and Orihime's. We can't do anything about her without more force."

"Any signs of the other two arrancar?"

"No. It seem they aren't with her, but I'm still missing part of the story. I think Ichigo knows, but he's not telling me much other than we should trust her."

"Airi isn't evil!" protested Zezuri, "She's my friend! She won't hurt anyone! It's everyone else that wants to hurt her. She's just defending herself!"

Rukia and Renji remained silent.

"I know her better than anyone, she wouldn't hurt anybody…"

"Well, you can never be too sure. She was an arrancar after all," Rukia argued.

"How does being an arrancar make a person bad?!" Zezuri argued back.

Rukia let out a sigh. "We'll see…" and she walked out of the room.

--

Airi had a relatively peaceful day at school without the threat of the shinigami's attack. That was until English class. Airi still wasn't able to understand anything and today by some ill-fated luck the teacher had called on her to read. "Cinalta, read the paragraph for the class," the teacher commanded.

"I… uh… I need to use the bathroom!" Airi exclaimed as she rushed out of the room. Airi hid outside the door until she was sure she heard the teacher call on someone else to read.

After school Airi walked home with Shinji, Orihime, and Ichigo, the latter two for more training. The four entered the Vizards' base and received the typical greeting from Hiyori, a glare to Orihime, a sandal in the face to Shinji, a quick "hello" to Airi, and a direct attack with her sword drawn to Ichigo, who had already changed to his shinigami state, Hiyori and Ichigo fought each other until Love announced dinner. The group was eating, talking, and the other usual antics like normal when a huge wave of spiritual pressure swelled up.

"Did you feel that?" Some one asked.

Everyone exchanged worried glances.

"Espada…. Quite a few of them," muttered Shinji.

"No, it's just Grimmjow's group… along with Wonderwice, Yammi, Luppi, and… someone much stronger…" said Airi recognizing the familiar presences. "It feels like they've added some of the lesser arrancars as well," she added.

Ichigo and Orihime began to run out of the base.

Airi looked after them, wondering why she wasn't following them.

"Airi," it was Shinji who spoke, "If you wish to go help them, you can, we understand your business with the arrancar isn't finished yet. Just be careful of two things; one, this could be a trap, and two, if you aren't careful with the way you release your power, you run the risk of reverting back to an arrancar. If that happens, it will be much harder for you to change back again, since your inner hollow had been separated from your consciousness."

Airi gave Shinji a confused and scared look.

"Just be careful, that's what he means," Mashiro clarified.

"As for us, we'll join in if the shinigami can't handle it; we prefer to stay hidden," Love added.

Airi nodded and ran out after her classmates.

--

They ran down the road and were joined by Chad, another classmate that Airi barely knew. "Ichigo, do you know what's going on?" he asked.

"Sorry Chad, I'm afraid you've got about as much of an idea as I do."

"Kurosaki!" Airi yelled sensing something, "They're splitting up!"

"Grr… Orihime, you and Chad go that way. Airi, keep going straight, I'll go this way."

The group split up respectively. Airi kept running in one direction towards one of the stronger powers. Ichigo had run off in the direction of the strongest and Chad and Orihime were headed in the direction of some of the lesser ones and Yammi. This split up left only one group of the arrancar without an opponent, Airi glanced in that direction, beams of light were shooting up at the invaders, Ishida had joined the battle. Suddenly the presence Airi had been tracking vanished.

"Where did he go…?" Airi was fairly certain it was Luppi she had been following. She stopped running and stood under a streetlight.

"Looking for someone?"

Airi glanced up and drew her sword in the same moment. "Ilfort?! And Luppi?!"

"Aha, so the traitor remembers our names, we're flattered," Luppi sneered.

"What are you doing here?"

"We're wondering the same thing. Where have you been? Ulquiorra and Grimmjow returned, why didn't you? And what happened to your mask?"

--

Zezuri and Renji were walking around until a blur of movement ran past them and tripped. "Hanataro!" Zezuri exclaimed as she and Renji ran over to him.

"Geez you're fast, how can you run like that?" asked Renji.

"P-practice…" Hanataro tried to catch his breath.

"What's wrong?"

"Captain Kuchiki sent me to tell you to guard Zezuri no matter what."

"Why? What happened?"

"The arrancar are invading Karakura town! Ichigo and the others are fighting them now!"

"What!?" Zezuri and Renji both exclaimed.

"The captains are going there now, they think that Aizen sent the smaller arrancar as a first wave to wipe out Ichigo's group, and that he and the rest of the arrancar will come and destroy Karakura!" Hanataro stated growing more nervous, "B-but don't worry! I'm also going to help protect Zezuri with my life!" he added, blushing.

Zezuri took his hand. "Thank you, Hanataro… And thank you too Renji…" She smiled. Renji and Hanataro smiled back, then Zezuri paused. "Wait… Aizen's stronger arrancar…?" she asked.

"U-um, yes,"

"Grimm…jow… Grimmjow!" She exclaimed before running off.

"Zezuri! What are you doing!?" Renji grabbed her arm.

"I have to go the human world!"

"You can't it's too dangerous! I have to protect you! I promised I would! We can't leave anyways, we'd need a captain's permission to go there!"

--

Luppi swatted at Airi and knocked her over. "You became a Vizard? You became a traitor?"

"I didn't ask to become an arrancar! I didn't want to be! Plus, they treat me much better than you!" Airi protested. "They actually care if I get hurt!"

"Did we ever leave you behind?"

Airi looked down, "You didn't come for me when I was stuck in Soul Society."

"Soul Society knows the moment we set foot outside of Hueco Mundo," Ilfort stated.

"And Zezuri, what is she to Aizen? I understand why he wanted me; I'm just a pawn to him-"

Luppi interrupted her, "Just a pawn? Then why would he have bothered sending Ulquiorra to watch over you?"

Airi stopped, her mind looking for an answer.

"As for Zezuri," Ilfort informed, "We don't know what she's needed for."

"Wait, you still need her?"

Another wave of spiritual pressure flowed out from a new source.

"Looks like the captains are here. We'll let you decide for yourself whose side you're on!" with a laugh, Luppi flash-stepped away, Ilforte close behind.

--

"Move out now!" Soi-Fon ordered as she appeared in Karakura.

"Captains! Wait until Aizen has arrived, then we shall go for him ourselves! Let the boy and the lesser soul reapers take out the small ones!" Head Captain Yamamoto ordered.

"Has the Soul Society gate been locked?" asked Shunsui.

"Yes, no one can enter or exit soul society…"

Back in the Seireitei the sky suddenly became dark.

"Renji, look!" Hanataro pointed at the sky.

"Damn, what is going on? It can't be…" They stared at a small fissure beginning in the sky.

"Renji…" started Zezuri

"What?"

"Do you still have my uniform from when I first came here?"

"Y-yes?"

"I'll need something that lets me move easier," Zezuri pointed out.

"S-sure it's actually in your room in the dresser." "Let's go!"

--

Airi stood in thought on a topic she couldn't believe she was struggling with. Luppi was right about everything he'd said, but that was no reason for her to willingly go back to her captors, the ones who had caused her to go through all this. But still…, a corner of her mind was tring to convince her to go back.

Sounds of battle brought her back to the present. "Zezuri…" she muttered wondering what her friend would do in this situation. A new realization struck her as she began to search for her nearest classmate. "Ishida!" she called to the Quincy as he fired more arrows into an oncoming wave of arrancar. "Ishida, I Know what they're after!" The Quincy turned to face Airi.

"What?"

"Zezuri, my friend! They're after her!"

"How do you know?" Airi quickly recollected her story to Ishida of the conversation with Luppi, leaving out the part of the offer and her own doubts.

"We've got to find Ichigo!" he paused for a moment sensing the shinigami's location. "I'll go get him, you get Orihime and Chad! Meet me at Urahara Shoten!"

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please comment or review! Thanks!


	35. Las Noches Breaks Loose

**Bleached: Ep. 35**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: From here on out the action doesn't stop until the end. That's right, I said end. Somehow I managed to fit everything into fourty chapters. -Airi_

* * *

Soul Society was slipping on security, thought Aizen as he broke open the final part of the gates to the Seireitei. They should have realized that just locking the door wasn't enough to keep a master of kido such as himself out. Gin, Tosen, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Nnoitora, Hailbel, and Syazel waited for their leader to finish the preparations. Stark and the remaining espada were already getting to the real world acting as a second decoy wave.

--

The shinigami were finally feeling like they were accomplishing something when Stark along with the third, seventh and ninth espada appeared on the scene along with another legion of lesser arrancar. Yamamoto singled out Stark instantly, as did Soi-Fon who rushed over while barking orders to the squad members she'd brought with her. Byakuya found himself facing the third, while Kyoraku battled Aeronero. Mayuri and Nemu struggled against the seventh espada. Nearby Kommamura took on Luppi, Ilfort, and D-Roy at once.

"Orihime! Hey!" yelled Airi, finally catching up.

Both Orihime and Chad were already beaten up and wearing out quickly. They were still fighting Yammi and if not for the addition of the eighth lieutenant, Nanao, they wouldn't still be fighting. The three battled the oversized arrancar still, but they were at a disadvantage. Although the narrow street they were fighting in did restrict the tenth espada's movements, he showed no remorse for smashed buildings, power lines, or anything for that matter. Airi quickly joined in the fray; her sword already in its first release.

"We need to get to a shop!" yelled Airi when she got a moment.

"A shop?" asked Orihime, her mind most likely not on the right subject.

"Urahara Shoten?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, that one!" Airi yelled charging forward again only to get slammed out of the way.

"This guy's blocking the way," Chad caught Airi before she hit the hard concrete.

Yammi took the opportunity to go in for the kill, but Orihime was faster with a shield.

Nanao cast a large blast of kido fire and caused the gorilla-like espada to back up a step. "This isn't getting any better…" she muttered.

A red blast of power came from behind Yammi and hit him full on. "Someone say 'Urahara?'"

"Mr. Hat and Clogs!" cheered Orihime. A blonde man wearing a green striped hat, green outfit and clogs stepped around the fallen espada.

"Is he dead?" asked Chad.

"No, far from it, I'd say, just unconscious," the shopkeeper answered.

"We don't have time to worry about that!" Ichigo and Ishida flash stepped into the conversation.

"I know, I know," Urahara held up a hand, "Say no more and follow me," he started to walk down the road.

"Wait, what's going on?!" demanded Nanao.

"Aizen is after Zezuri, I don't know why, but I do know she's not here," said Airi.

"The girl Renji rescued?"

"Renji? I think that was his name."

"She's in Soul Society, but the gates have been sealed."

"I don't think that will stop Aizen."

"No, it won't opening a locked door is child's play for him," Urahara added.

"I don't know who either of you are, but your assumption sounds logical to me," said the eighth lieutenant after she thought it over.

"Did you inform the captains, Kurosaki?"

"Byakuya was the only one I passed on the way."

"I'll inform the others!" Nanao flash stepped away.

--

The group arrived shortly at Urahara's shop. He slid the door open and walked to the back room with a tatami mat floor. Crouching down he lifted up a mat to reveal a hidden ladder.

Airi started to wonder if there was a connection between this shady merchant and the Vizards, unless secret staircases and hidden ladders were standard component of homes in Japan. Airi's suspicions increased as she and Ichigo's group climbed down the ladder into a large cavern identical to the Vizards'. The same blue, cloudless, painting of a sky loomed overhead.

At the bottom Urahara led the group to a large rectangle that resembled a giant picture from.

"Will that still work since the gate is locked?" asked Ishida.

"Yep," confidence shone in Urahara's voice as he activated the portal with a snap of his fingers, "It's even better than before because you get an entire hour for the crossing with the portal."

"Alright!" exclaimed Ichigo, whom, along with Ishida, Orihime, and Chad, hadn't enjoyed the short four minutes from the first time they'd used this. "Let's go!" Ichigo led the group through the portal.

"Hey, Airi, is it? Come here a moment," Urahara stopped her.

"Huh, what?"

"You're stuck at an important decision, aren't you?"

Airi stepped back from the man.

"It's written all over your face, but just remember one thing and that's who your friends are. Stay true to them," Urahara gave the best advice he could, the girl was struggling to find her place among all this chaos. Urahara watched Airi run into the portal, hoping she'd make the right decision for herself, before exiting the room and going back to see if he could assist anywhere.

--

Zezuri exited her room, now changed into the uniform Aizen had given her.

"Wait, why exactly do you think you'll need to wear that again?" asked Renji.

"I sense him, Aizen's coming here," she replied ignoring his question.

"But, he's in the real world… unless…" Renji, Zezuri, and Hanataro came to the same conclusion at once.

"It was a diversion, damn it! What are we going to do?! Most of the captains are in the human world!" exclaimed Renji. Someone was heard running down the hallway towards the room.

"A-are they here already?" shuddered Hanataro.

"Renji?!" Momo's voice came from the other side of the door as she opened it.

"Momo?"

"Come look at this!" She led them outside to see the fissure in the sky had gotten larger.

"What's going on?" she asked. Zezuri gazed terrified as the cracks grew larger.

"Renji!" Toshiro Hitsugaya flashed into the courtyard.

"C-captain Hitsugaya, and Rangiku!" Renji exclaimed.

"Aizen is coming here, but we're short on power."

"Aizen… C-captain Aizen…" hope filled Momo's heart.

"Not in a good way Momo… he's here to kill us," Toshiro warned. "Not only Aizen, but I sense Gin, Tosen, and many more with them…"

Rangiku looked at the ground.

"W-what more does he want from here?" asked Hanataro.

Toshiro looked at Zezuri. "Something he left here to destroy the Soul Society."

--

Airi, Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and Ishida found themselves outside the West Senkon Wall of the seireitei. Ichigo charged at it, "Yo! Jidonbo?" he called for the guard. The gate opened as if in response, but it was Kira Izuru, the blond Lieutenant of 3rd squad who had opened the gate.

"Kurosaki? How did you get here?"

"Never mind that, we've got a bigger problem."

"Aizen?"

"Where's Zezuri?!" asked Airi, her hold on her patience slipping.

"This way," Kira ran ahead of the group as they headed for sixth division. They never quite made it when the crack in the sky opened up and Aizen's army burst through.

--

Grimmjow scanned the area quickly for Zezuri. The last time he'd seen her she had been wearing a pink kimono, not knowing she'd changed into her white uniform. He found a place to start looking, but hesitated, since he couldn't leave without Aizen's command.

"Go," Commanded Aizen and the espada, Gin, and Tosen sped off in separate directions.

"They're coming!" Toshiro announced. Renji instantly grabbed Zezuri, as she was preoccupied with gazing at the sky, and dashed off.

"Hanataro! Get somewhere safe!" Toshiro ordered.

"Y-yes sir!" Hanataro also dashed away.

"Momo… I sorry to ask you this… you won't agree, but I need you to help me protect the Soul Society," Toshioro lowered his eyes, he couldn't look at Momo's shocked face.

"B-but… c-captain…"

"He isn't your captain anymore! He's trying to kill us! He tried to kill you! Momo… I don't want you to let him hurt you anymore."

"Captain," Rangiku looked concerned as an espada, Nnoitora, headed straight for them.

"Momo! Look out!" Toshiro shoved her out of the way.

"Captain!?" Rangiku shouted.

The dust cleared as a fire blast shot from nowhere. Momo stood in front of the half wounded Toshiro.

"Momo! Don't fight him! He's too strong!" Toshiro warned.

"I… don't know what to do about Captain Aizen, but until then, I must fight! Snap! Tobi Ume!" Momo released her zanpakto.

"Roar, Hineko!" Rangiku also released her zanpakto.

Toshiro stood up, ignoring his wound, "Alright then," he said unsheathing his own sword.

--

Seeing the espada coming down from the sky Airi broke off from the group knowing she'd have to find Zezuri before they did. She knew her friend had a guard, but had very little confidence in his ability to protect her. Of course, Airi had no idea where she was going; she'd been in two places for her time here and never saw much else. A sudden movement in the corner of her vision mad Airi stop running and draw her sword. She turned to see Hanataro stop and turn to face her, his own zanpakto drawn.

"Oh, a shinigami," said Airi, relived, "You're from… 4th division…?" She remembered seeing him somewhere before, but his name eluded her.

"A-aren't y-you t-that arrancar?!" the shinigami shook all over with fear.

"No, I'm not an arrancar, I'm here to help."

Hanataro lowered his sword, "Okay, I believe you."

"Zezuri, where can I find her?"

"That way," Hanataro pointed in the direction of sixth division.

"Thanks!" Airi ran off leaving the bewildered shinigami behind.

--

"Nnoitora, I can take it from here," a sly voice came from behind, "You go find someone else to play with, I have a rain check with this group," Gin appeared with the smile he always wore.

"Whatever," Nnoitora disappeared.

"Gin… Ichimaru…" Hitsugaya sneered.

"Yo! Long time no see," Gin waved.

"What do you think you're doing here?" demanded the tenth captain.

"I couldn't let Aizen have all the fun."

Momo gasped. "C-captain…? What did you do with him!?

"Why nothing, just following his orders," Gin replied.

"Enough talk Gin, ready your sword!" Toshiro pointed his zanpakto at Gin.

The ex-captain turned to Rangiku, ignoring the tenth taicho. "I'm sorry Rangiku, but it looks like I'm your enemy. What are you going to do?"

"I'm sorry too, Gin, but I must fight you too," Rangiku's eyes shook as she readied her sword.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please comment or review!


	36. Fourth Vs Fourth

**Bleached: Ep. 36**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Honestly, I love this fight scene you're about to read. I, unlike Kubo, like to let some other divisions besides 6th, 10th, and 11th have all the glory. -Airi_

* * *

Airi had never been very good with her sense of direction, she now as cursing her luck in her head as she found herself at the gates of fourth division. "Guess I should ask where sixth division is from here…" she thought, "looks like I can't avoid the people who recognize me either…" Sighing, she nervously entered the large division's courtyard.

The members of fourth squad were running around frantically dividing up into groups and going to their designated relief areas.

"You there!" someone yelled to her.

"Uh… hi," Airi responded to the silver-haired lieutenant.

"Aren't you… no it couldn't be…"

"I am, or more of was… that arrancar…" Airi wasn't sure this was the best way to go about this, but she didn't have time to waste with worry. "Could you tell me were I could find Zezuri?"

Just then Unohana flash-stepped into the area. "Isane, prepare for an attack, one of them is headed here," The captain turned to Airi, her eyes held a million questions, but she with held them. "Renji is guarding Zezuri, she'll be fine."

Airi wished she could believe in the fourth captain's words. By now all of fourth division was deserted, save for Isane, Airi, and Unohana. They stood back to back in a triangle formation, sensing the approach of a strong presence.

"Friend or foe?" Isane asked her captain.

"Foe, I don't know anyone this powerful, save for maybe the general." The three waited with baited breath for the attack.

"Above us!" screamed Airi thrusting her sword upwards to block herself.

Metal rang out less than a second later as Airi's green glare met another, fiercer one.

"An espada," gasped Isane.

In a series of quick attacks Airi's opponent sent her flying into the wall. Her landing was accompanied by a large green cero blast. Airi wasn't there when the dust settled. Instead she was standing a little further to the right of where she had landed.

"Ulquiorra…" she panted, clutching a small should wound.

Unohana attacked the fourth espada next, swinging her long curved blade expertly. This was the first time Isane could remember her captain using her sword in combat. Unohana was at least three times as powerful as Airi, but Ulquiorra blocked all of her moves without any difficulty. Isane charged in after Unohana caused the black haired espada to step back. Ulquiorra saw her coming and side stepped her attack. Airi picked up her sword again and released its first level of power. Sparks flew as she ran at Ulquiorra. He barely flinched at the impact as he blocked Airi's sword with his wrist.

"Why did you leave me if you only are going to kill me now?" Airi yelled, tears running down her face, "You saved me for what?!"

Ulquiorra didn't respond, nor did his face display any emotion. Airi had lost all of her normal calm and was fighting in a confused frenzy. Again, Ulquiorra sent Airi flying into the wall. This time the captain charged in before he could use cero. Isane rushed over to where Airi had landed and cast a quick healing spell before running to join her captain.

"We're not going to last much longer at this rate, I'm afraid," shouted Unohana guarding from another series of attacks.

--

Ichigo and friends had run into Nnoitora and all four of them were now locking in battle. Kira had run off to attempt to get a message to the captains in the real world.

--

Joushiro looked out his window. "They're here…" he commented. "Are you ready, Rukia?"

"Yes, sir."

"What about us captain?!" Kyone asked.

"You two must stay here, I'm afraid that these enemies are too powerful for you." Joushiro said as he and Rukia exited.

They didn't get far before, "Captain Ukitake! They're here!" Shuhei said rushing over to them.

"I know, be prepared Hisagi, here comes one now!" Joushiro announced.

And with that Kaname Tosen stood above them in mid-air.

"C-catain Tosen!?" Shuhei hadn't expected him.

--

Renji was still running, carrying Zezuri in his arms. "One is catching up… and fast…" Renji thought. Suddenly, a blue cero blast headed straight for him. Renji dodged it in time, but lost his balance and fell over. Zezuri tried to help Renji up; he was practically crushing her. The sixth lieutenant looked over his shoulder and noticed the blue-haired arrancar. Grimmjow looked around and saw the person he was looking for.

"Tch. Found ya…" he said to himself as he remembered the time he had been sent to find her in the Menos forest.

"That spiritual pressure…" Zezuri looked up and saw Grimmjow. "Grimm-"

"Zezuri, stand back!" Renji unsheathed his zanpakto.

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed.

"Wait! Don't fight!" Zezuri pleaded.

"I wouldn't have to if he'd put his sword away! Now I suggest you get away from here Zezuri, I'll win, and take you back with me!" Grimmjow made himself a promise.

Renji stared. That promise sounded just like the one Ichigo made when he came for Rukia. "Here…" Renji grabbed Zezuri and flash stepped her to a safer ahead. "Stay here…"

"Please…. I don't want you two to fight! You're on the same side!"

Renji was confused but he flash-stepped back to the battle. "Same side? We can't be… fighting for the same thing…" Renji thought, but he had to focus on the battle ahead. "She's safe for now, let's fight!" Renji said.

"Fine by me…" Grimmjow readied himself.

--

Zezuri hid in some bushes, "Why is this happening again… just like-" Zezuri's thoughts were interrupted.

"Ah… so we finally get to meet again, after so long," a voice came from behind her. She whirled around to see Syazel standing right behind her.

"You…" She said surprised.

"Yes, you've become more beautiful and stronger since I last saw you…" he stepped forward as she took a step back. "Lord Aizen has been dying to see you too, why don't you come with me without the fussing?" he held out a hand.

Zezuri stared, repulsed, "No!" she fired off a quick kido spell.

Syazel dodged it and dusted himself off. "I see…" he adjusted his glasses.

--

"He's holding back!" yelled Unohana. It was quite obvious; the espada could have easily destroyed the two shinigami and lone Vizard.

Airi had pulled out her mask; she'd only had a bit of training with this, and wasn't able to maintain it for more than five seconds at a time.

Isane was thrown into a wall, slammed her head on the solid stone and was rendered unconscious. Unohana had made many attempts to heal her lieutenant, but Ulquiorra blocked all attempts. By now both the captain and Vizard were reaching their limits and Ulquiorra was just warming up.

Airi was about to attack when she noticed Ulquiorra attempt a cero at the unconscious Isane. "No!" Airi shouted, knowing she wouldn't be fast enough. Isane would be killed and she couldn't save her. Ulquiorra's cero blast shot off and screamed past Airi. "Isane!" Airi was sure it had hit the silver haired shinigami.

But, as the smoke cleared another form was visible; Unohana. The fourth captain had managed to flash-step over in time to intercept the blow. She fell to her knees, having taken the full blast, and passed out, leaving Airi to fight the fourth espada by herself.

--

Renji was the one to charge in first. "Roar, Zabimaru!" he shouted, releasing his zanpakto. But Grimmjow just blocked the blow with his hand and punched Renji in the stomach, knocking the red haired shinigami backwards towards the ground. Renji caught his balance and landed on the ground, stumbling slightly from the blow. "He's too strong for my shikai form…" Renji thought. "Bankai!!" Renji's sword transformed into a huge, snake-like creature.

--

"So it's going to be like that? I can't kill you, but I can take you to Aizen by force," Syazel unsheathed his zanpakto.

Zezuri glared at him, waiting for him to move, making sure that she would be faster with a spell.

--

Airi knew she couldn't last for much longer; she couldn't summon enough energy to pull out her mask and maintain her shikai as well.

Ulquiorra attacked again.

Airi put her sword up for defense, but it was futile. Airi let out a moan as she was slammed into another section of the wall. She looked up to see the green-eyed espada looming over her. "Why are you holding back? Your intent was to kill me, I know you're more powerful than this," Airi remarked softly.

Ulquiorra's right hand began to glow green as he prepared a cero blast, "Aizen-sama's orders."

With that the green beam of light soared at Airi. Her mind ran frantically for what to do as well as through all the unanswered questions she still had. Why he had bothered protecting her for all this time was certainly one neither of them had an answer for, save for "it was Aizen-sama's orders." Airi could just envision the pale arrancar stating his favorite line just one last time. Here it was, the end, oblivion and emptiness awaited her, Airi knew that no matter what she did, this was it. Only Zezuri would miss her anyways. She closed her eyes, put up her final guard, and waited.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?!" Yelled someone, clearly not Ulquiorra, from in front of her. "Geez, you're a mess. After all the trouble Hiyori and Mashiro went through to get you a nice looking outfit and here you are getting all beat up."

Airi opened her eyes.

"As for you, Ulquiorra, what purpose did it serve you to rescue her in the first place?" Shinji Hirado stood before her.

"S-Shinji!" Airi couldn't remember being happier to see anyone.

Ulquiorra had stopped his stream of attacks, seemingly deep in thought.

Shinji didn't take his eyes off his opponent, "So, Sosuke, what is it you truly want?" he muttered, "Airi?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have enough energy to continue?"

Airi looked at her tattered condition; she had a large number of cuts and bruises, but nothing broken. Her clothes, like Shinji had said were not looking too good. Sparks faintly fell from the hilt of her sword; a mere shadow of what they were when she'd first released it.

"No, never mind," said Shinji sensing her hesitation, "I can take this one." The Vizard faced the espada for what seemed like an eternity.

Airi felt like she was watching an old west showdown waiting for the draw.

Suddenly, Ulquiorra vanished without a word, he knew he was overpowered by the newcomer and had little pride to lose in retreating. Sensing that the fourth espada had left and wasn't attempting a sneak attack, Shinji sheathed his sword. He turned to Airi whom was still lying in the rubble.

She put her sword away and let out a sigh. A smile crossed her face as Shinji pulled her up from the wreckage.

Once Airi was on her feet Shinji embraced her on the spot. At first, Airi was stunned, this kind of behavior normally bothered her and she half expected herself to push him away, instead she embraced the other Vizard right back.

"Thanks," she said into his shoulder in which her face was buried.

"It's not over yet," he smiled, "but you're welcome."

They broke apart and Airi remembered Isane and Unohana. She looked at where she'd last seen them, but they weren't there.

"I removed Retsu and her lieutenant from the battle while you held off Ulquiorra," Shinji explained, "Don't worry, they'll be fine."

"Shinji, I didn't think you would get involved in all of this."

"The others didn't come, they're helping out in the human world," Shinji half answered the question, "It's too risky for all of us to come and that's an entirely different story. I'll tell you later. Did you find your friend?"

A shocked look crossed Airi's face; she'd been so preoccupied she'd almost forgotten why she was here.

"Let's go find her."

* * *

Thanks for reading! How was this chapter? Tell us!


	37. Judgement!

**Bleached: Ep. 37**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Beware of the Tales of Symphonia reference coming up!! -Airi_

* * *

Renji and Grimmjow's battle continued and Renji was running out energy, fast. "Heh. I've gotten stronger since you shingami last fought me. Not even a captain can defeat me!" Grimmjow exclaimed. They both had several wounds already.

"I'm not going down easily… I've got to protect her…" Renji panted. "Go Zabimaru!" Zabimaru attacked so fast that Grimmjow barely had time to dodge it. Renji cast a kido spell causing a huge explosion of fire. He watched, waiting for Grimmjow to emerge from the smoke. Grimmjow was barely standing. "What's the matter? I thought you'd gotten stronger," Renji commented.

"Tch. It's not over yet… shinigami," Grimmjow unsheathed his sword.

"He's just been fighting me with his bare hands and cero blasts? Has he been holding back?" Renji barley had any time to think.

"Grind… panthera!" Suddenly Grimmjow transformed into his released form.

"He's a… creature…?" Renji was confused by the frantically looked around as Grimmjow disappeared and reappeared behind the shinigami.

"I'm going to protect her and you aren't getting in my way!" Grimmjow slashed at Renji, making a deep wound in the shinigami's side. Grimmjow's ears perked up as he paused for a moment.

"What's wrong? Are you-" Renji was interrupted.

"She's in trouble!"

--

Syazel made his first move and swung his zanpakto at Zezuri, but she managed to dodge it, but he swung it again and hit her in the stomach with the hilt of his sword. Zezuri fell to her knees, coughing. "Do you want to keep doing this?" he put his sword away thinking the fight was finished.

"I… haven't… started yet…" Zezuri managed to stand up. "The sun and moon, turn away! The earth is the target to strike! Shadows hide away in darkness! May the heavens come crashing down! Hado 99! Judgment!" Zezuri chanted and a bright light came from the sky and a large spear crashed into Syazel. The spell took lots of energy from Zezuri, causing her to almost collapse. The smoke cleared and Zezuri's heart almost dropped.

Syazel was still standing as if nothing had happened. "You missed, failure," he grinned.

Zezuri screamed out in frustration. She couldn't believe she missed; she had used up too much energy to attempt it again. In short, she had failed.

"Now…" Syazel walked over slowly, "I'm going to take you to Aizen." He kicked her over just for fun and pulled her up by her hair. "Remember this?" he pulled out a needle. Zezuri stared terrified. Before she could do anything, he stuck the needle right into her neck. "Aizen-sama needs you in your most powerful state. This serum will reboot your kido and spiritual pressure." He let go of her and she fell to the ground as he put his needle away. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, Syazel saw Grimmjow, in his released form, charging at him, claws at the ready. But Syazel swiftly dodged him. "What's this? Attacking your own comrade?"

Grimmjow ignored him and rushed over to Zezuri. "Zezuri! What…" he noticed the puncture mark in her neck.

"Grimmjow…?" Zezuri could barely recognize him. Zezuri looked at him in fear.

"Look… she thinks you're a monster," Syazel teased. Grimmjow looked away depressed but Zezuri soon recognized him.

"It is… you… eh…" the serum was taking effect. She touched his face softly before passing out.

Syazel took the chance to strike Grimmjow, but Syazel's blade met another's.

"I won't let you get away with this…" Renji panted, wounds still bleed, but not enough to stop him.

--

"What's the matter, Captain Hitsugaya? Can't take it?" Gin teased. Toshiro looked briefly over his shoulder at the collapsed forms of Rangiku and Momo.

"Gin… you bastard…"

"Hmph, that's not nice. But it looks like you've reached your limits, not even your bankai can take me. So I think I'll leave, there's something else I should be doing." Gin increased his spiritual pressure, making Toshiro pass out. "Hm… now, I think I felt it over there…" Gin disappeared.

--

The sounds of combat rang through out the seireitei as every available soul reaper was locked in combat with members of Aizen's army.

"It's quite busy here today," remarked Shinji as he and Airi ran towards sixth division.

"I sense… Grimmjow…" remarked Airi feeling his familiar spiritual pressure. "But, he's fighting… Syazel?! Some one else is there too, but I don't know them."

"Friend or foe?"

"Friend, whoever it is happens to be fighting alongside Grimmjow."

"Assuming Grimmjow's on our side."

"He's the most likely, I can't imagine Syazel as an ally."

--

Grimmjow set Zezuri down gently. "What are you doing? Get her out of here!" Renji commanded.

"Tch, you idiot. You won't be able to take Syazel on your own…"

"Then I guess we're teaming up!" Renji grinned.

"Hmph… just don't get in my way…" Grimmjow commented as he got in position.

"Right." Renji nodded.

"Weren't you warned, Grimmjow? I'm sure Uquiorra told you what would happen if you betrayed Aizen…"

"Shut up! I'm not afraid of Uqluiorra or Aizen!"

"So you chose to make that girl your own demise? So be it, I'll liberate you from that girl and your feelings." The pink haired espada drew his sword once more and was about to attack Grimmjow when Gin flash-stepped in.

"Ichimaru," hissed Renji.

"Hello Abarai-kun!" Gin said with a small wave, he turned to Grimmjow, "My, my, what have we here? Did the kitty discover its claws?"

Grimmjow turned his attention to the ex-captain. Syazel saw the opening and took it. His sword's path was interrupted suddenly by another sword.

Airi crouched in front of the 6th espada struggling to fend off the weight of the 8th espada's attack.

Gin wasted no time, while Grimmjow and Renji's attention was drawn to Airi and Syazel, he flash stepped over to Zezuri's unconscious form, picked her up and was back at Syazel's side casting the transporting ribbon before anyone could blink. Even Shinji, who had been hiding in the shadows as back up wasn't fast enough to stop this.

"No!" yelled Renji, Grimmjow, and Airi as their enemies escaped along with Zezuri.

"Where did they go?" asked Airi, ignoring Renji and Grimmjow's stares of amazement and confusion as to who stood before them.

"They didn't leave the seireitei," remarked Shinji; he'd attempted to stop Gin, but had been a step behind him.

"Damn it!" Grimmjow clenched his fist.

--

Zezuri regained consciousness. "W-what happened?" she asked sitting up.

"Ah, you're awake," Aizen stood nearby, "Looks like the serum settled in," he helped her to her feet, then she quickly backed away. "There's no point in resisting. It won't save you."

"W-what do you want with me?" she asked.

--

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Izuru rushed over to the collapsed group.

"Izuru… I'm fine…" Toshiro managed to pull himself off the ground.

"I've alerted the other captains. They managed to keep the arrancar at bay in the real world and sent them running back to Hueco Mundo! They're on their way back!" Izuru said excited.

"It may be too late…" Rangiku regained consciousness.

"I can feel it… Aizen already has the girl…. Because of Gin…" Toshiro thought for a moment. "We need to find Captain Unohana and her squad so we can heal the wounded. We need to stop Aizen's plan!"

"There's no need to look for us, we're here," Unohana and Isane walked over to the injured captain and lieutenants and began to heal them.

Hitsugaya looked at Unohana as she healed him, "Uonohana, you don't exactly look in top condition, what happened?"

"Isane and I were battling the fourth espada, but we don't know how that ended."

"What?"

"This isn't the time," Unohana had finished healing Toshiro, "We must stop Sosuke." He nodded and stood up.

"They're in the courtyard of ninth division," reported Hitsugaya sensing a large amount of power emanating from that location. "Isane!"

"Yes sir?"

"Contact any and all shinigami that are available and direct them to ninth division."

The silver haired lieutenant nodded and began her spell as the other shinigami made for the location.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	38. Heart of Chaos

**Bleached: Ep. 38**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Fourth division ftw!! Sorry, I feel they are SO under appreciated.__ -Airi_

* * *

Airi, Shinji, Grimmjow, and Renji were going through minor introductions as they ran for ninth division. The buildings were getting further spaced out and an increase in shrubbery was apparent.

"Hirako…" said Renji wishing he could remember where he'd heard that name before. Just then, Airi spotted Aizen, Gin, Syazel, Ulquiorra, and Zezuri.

"Zezuri!" yelled Airi, the first to charge in.

"Looks like it's time…" with that Aizen ran his hand through Zezuri's chest using the same meathod he used to get the hyogoku from Rukia.

"Uhg…" Zezuri was stunned and unable to move. Aizen pulled out his hand along with the last shard. Zezuri dropped to the ground, a lifeless form.

"ZEZURI!" The three tried to rush to her but Gin stood in the way.

"I don't think so," he grinned.

"May I ask, what is the 4th shard?" Syazel asked with fascination.

"It is… her heart. Only one so pure could be so powerful; the Hado 99 she attacked you with was, until now, beyond my power," Aizen replied, "And without her heart she is a lifeless doll. But now I have all of the shards in my possession," Aizen chuckled slightly as the four shards hovered in the palm of his hand.

"Why did we take both of the humans, then?" asked Syazel, full of questions.

"I wasn't sure which one contained the shard, so I just took both. Airi didn't have it so she became a pawn in my game. But in Zezuri's case, as the saying goes; the flower that blooms late is the most beautiful," he said gazing down at Zezuri's lifeless form.

"I don't get one thing, Aizen-sama, why is it that only one of the shards was located inside a person while the other three were in plain sight?"

"When Uahara created this, he accidentally made it too powerful and broke it into four pieces. He hid them shortly after his banishment. Three he hid where he could check on them. The fourth, and largest part, he sent far away, but as to how it came to be in that girl, I don't think even Uahara himself would know," Aizen explained.

"Now, the moment this has all led up to." The four shards glowed a soft purple color and fused into one piece. Aizen lifted his hand and power stronger than anyone had ever felt before surged from the ex-captain.

Even Ulquiorra had a shocked expression on his face.

Without an incantation or any warning Aizen summoned a large amount of power which materialized into a large fireball. He pointed over a neighboring building straight at 12th division. The fireball transformed into a flaming dragon and flew off towards the research department. Moments later a torrent of fire sprouted up, proving its target had been incinerated.

"No!" shouted Renji, 'that's where the controls of the senkai gates were!"

"Precisely why I destroyed it, now the captains are stuck in the real world," a slight smile crossed his face, "And now they can see that I truly stand atop the heavens."

"We've got to get past Gin!" shouted Grimmjow, the first to recover from the shock.

"Leave him to me," Rangiku Matsumoto flash-stepped in.

"Rangiku, nice to see you again, and so soon," mused the silver-haired captain.

Matsumoto glared at her former friend and charged at him with no mercy.

Airi, Renji, and Grimmjow charged in while Matsumoto fought Gin. "Not so fast, you won't lay a hand on Aizen-sama," Syazel blocked their way.

"We've got this one!" called Izuru as he and Hitsugaya charged in at the eighth espada.

Airi looked around for Ulquiorra. Where had he gone? He was no longer at Aizen's side. She glanced ahead of her in time to see Shinji flash-step backwards. A loud clang broke out behind her as Shinji and Ulquiorra crossed swords.

"Keep going!" yelled Shinji pushing back his opponent's sword. Airi hesitated for a moment stuck between helping Shinji or Zezuri, but the moment didn't last long as Airi remembered the last opponent; Aizen.

--

Back in the world of the living, the captains had managed to open the gates mere seconds before Aizen's rampage of destruction had begun. All the shinigami that had come through were now taking the four-minute run to soul society, hoping they weren't too late.

--

Isane had finished contacting all the shinigami within the seireitei and was now making her way to ninth division. She sensed her captain was at the thirteenth division healing the injured. The lieutenant of 4th division arrived at the main battle scene in time to see Tosen also arrive. The ex-ninth captain was about to stop Airi, Renji, and Grimmjow, but she wasn't about to allow that. Flash stepping and drawing her sword in the same moment, she placed herself between Tosen and her comrades.

"Fighting me by yourself? That is rather unwise," stated Tosen in his monotone, "But mine is the path of justice and you are in the way; move."

"N-no!" Isane knew she couldn't take this captain by herself.

"So be it," He drew his sword.

"S-s-she's not a-alone!" called a very scared voice from behind Tosen.

"Hanataro! Get out of here!" yelled Isane.

"N-no! I-I'm going to, I'm going to help!" the seventh seat of fourth division yelled. Isane had never seen the timid shinigami so determine; she'd always assumed he would simply faint if he was ever caught in a battle.

"Very well, then I shall end both of your existences here," Tosen readied an attack.

--

"We have an opening!" Renji said getting his hopes up. Grimmjow flash stepped in to grab Zezuri only to get knocked back by one of Aizen's spells.

"She can't be moved," stated Aizen. "Currently she still holds some of the power of the shard. If you move her my power will become unstable."

"So if we move her out of there, the power of the shard might weaken enough for us," Airi thought.

"But if we don't hurry," Renji started.

"She'll be a lifeless shell until her body withers away…" finished Aizen.

"You bastard!" Grimmjow charged in.

"Pathetic," Aizen drew his own zanpakto. Halfway through his strike, Aizen's sword collided with a twin pair of large zanpakto, wielded by a man with a hat and pink robe.

"Go save your woman, leave him to us," Shunsui turned and grinned. Suddenly, ninth division's courtyard became full of returning troops.

"I don't need the shard's power to destroy you, just to destroy soul society," Aizen glared at the eighth captain.

Grimmjow and Airi rushed for Zezuri only to be blocked by Luppi. "Surprised to see me?" he teased Grimmjow.

"You don't have time for this! Get Zezuri!" yelled Airi, "Leave him to me!"

Grimmjow ran on to Zezuri, leaving Renji fighting Aizen with Shunsui and Airi fighting Luppi.

"So," scowled Luppi, "You chose soul society over us?"

"Not exactly," Airi swung at the feminine arrancar, "They don't like me here either. My place is by Shinji!"

"Feh, let me show you just how big of a mistake you just made!" Luppi lunged at Airi and summoned his released form at once.

--

Meanwhile Shinji and Ulquiorra had moved away from the larger battle, but theirs was no less intense. Ulquiorra and Shinji were, despite the fourth espada's previous guess, almost evenly matched. The fourth espada pulled back from the fight, to Shinji's surprise, his sword glowed an intense green color. Shinji didn't need to be told what was coming next. The air around the espada exploded and where the black-haired arrancar had stood mere seconds before, a huge dragon towered above the Vizard.

"Well… No wonder you're the fourth," muttered Shinji, pulling on his mask.

--

Grimmjow finally reached Zezuri and took her in his arms, flashing a few meters away. "Wake up! Wake up, Zezuri!" he pleaded, but it was useless, she remained non-responsive. Grimmjow glared at Aizen.

"If we don't do something, she'll disappear…" Unohana said as she came up to them.

"How?!" he asked frustrated.

"Get back her heart, it's the only way to save her and soul society and destroy Aizen once and for all…" Toshiro said also flashing in.

* * *

Thanks for reading!! Please comment or review!! Thanks!


	39. Shattered Soul

**Bleached: Ep. 39**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Yes, Airi is a math dork. Just look at the first sentence... I believe I was in calculus... maybe during the AP exam week. Or maybe it was Statistics? -Airi_

* * *

Aizen's power level was increasing exponentially without bound. Shunsui was still fighting a battle that clearly wasn't going his way; Renji had been knocked out quite a while ago. The eighth taicho's pink robe had been reduced to a sorry state and his hat was in disrepair. It looked like it might be over for him when another set of twin swords entered the fray.

"You're late!" Sunsei teased his best friend.

"Sorry, I was delayed by a former friend," Jushiro referenced his battle with Tosen.

"Ready to take this traitor out?"

--

Toshiro joined in Matsumoto's fight with Gin while Unohana aided her squad in their fight against Tosen.

--

Airi, however, was receiving no back up. Luppi was stronger than her by just a fraction, but it was clear to her that at this rate she would lose.

--

Momo managed to catch up and when she saw Aizen, she fell to her knees. "A-Aizen Taicho…"

Aizen turned to look at her. "Hinamori, how nice to see you again. I see you've healed. That's too bad…"

"Taicho, w-why?" tears fell from her eyes.

"I don't like explaining things that happened so long ago. I won't hold back this time." Aizen raised his sword.

"We're not finished yet, Aizen!" Jushiro lunged for the ex-captain, but had to stop suddenly due to a coughing fit.

Shunsui stepped in front of Momo. "Hinamori… if this is too hard for you, I suggest you stand back, go help the others," Shunsui commanded softly to the distressed girl.

Momo was about to protest when another figure joined the fray.

"Get back, you're in the way."

"Byakuya, decided to finally join us?" mused Shunsui as the head of the Kuchiki clan sent forth a large stream of razor sharp cherry blossom petals at Aizen.

Momo backed off and watched the battle from a distance.

--

Airi continued to struggle in her battle against Luppi. Her strength was waning, but so was Luppi's but at a much slower rate. A dark impulse was tugging at the back of her mind; her inner hollow. Like Shinji had warned her. If she kept up her fight using the mask's power she might lose herself. Sensing its power growing Airi removed her mask again.

"What's wrong? Giving up?" Luppi taunted. Airi didn't respond and just swung back at the arrancar.

"Finish this quick, please, Grimmjow, I can't keep this up without reverting for much longer," Airi thought frantically.

--

Grimmjow put Zezuri down and went to join the fray again. When Shunsui gave him an opening, Grimmjow lunged for the shard. Aizen took notice, but it was too late. As the espada's hand flew by it broke apart and Grimmjow managed to grab one, but Aizen's sword cut him deep in the process.

The remaining three shards broke from their unified state after Grimmjow tore one off. They swirled around a bit in Aizen's hand and became one again.

Grimmjow collapsed on the ground several feet away after a half flash step. Blood poured from a deep gash in his side, he clutched it in pain with the hand that held the shard, tarnishing it with the gore.

Aizen's power had diminished by 25, but still it was nothing to sneeze at. Shunsui, Ukitake, and Byakuya readied themselves for another round.

Grimmjow pulled himself to his feet and realized he was on the other side of the battle from Zezuri's body. Looking at the battle scene in front of him, he realized his chances of making it were slim to none and slim had just flash-stepped away.

--

Luppi scored a major blow to Airi. Pain shot thought her right shoulder, now broken for the fourth time. "Looks like your end happens here and now, what a pity," Luppi prepared for a finishing attack. Airi couldn't focus on anything but the pain. At this moment, her other conscious took the opportunity and seized control. Airi's mask formed again, this time shattering to leave some fragments in her hair. She felt herself losing control as her heart stopped and vanished again.

Luppi suddenly found himself fighting a berserk arrancar and losing.

"No!" Airi screamed within herself as her sword went through Luppi.

The arrancar stared in shock as Airi's body withdrew the sword. His released form crumbled as he sank to the ground. Airi's inner hollow didn't stick around to see what happened; instead it harbored most of Airi's rage at Aizen and sought out its most hated foe.

"Die!" Her voice was twisted and warped almost beyond her own recognition as she flung herself at Aizen, abandoning all caution.

--

Shinji deflected another blast from the giant dragon otherwise known as the fourth espada. "No…" he gasped, feeling Airi's spiritual energy mutate.

Ulquiorra also sensed the change, but ignored any thoughts concerning it.

--

Grimmjow and the three shinigami captains stared in shock at the newcomer in the battle. She fought with more ferocity than Kenpachi had ever shown. Grimmjow saw how Airi's added strength was enough to push the odds to almost the even point.

Waiting for the right moment, he flash-stepped to Zezuri's side, "Now what?!" he yelled looking from the shard to the lifeless form of the first person who ever had truly cared for him. The sixth espada began to panic wondering if it was too late. He picked up Zezuri's limp form and held it in his arms. The shard still tightly grasped in his hand began to glow faintly, but nothing more happened.

--

Shunsei landed a lucky blow on the shards, causing them to separate. Before anyone realized what was happening, Ukitake suddenly was in possession of a shard, leaving Aizen with two. The remaining shards melted back together as Jushiro threw his to Grimmjow.

"Hey! Heads up!"

The shard clattered to the ground next to Grimmjow. The blue haired espada picked up the second shard as if it were made of sharp glass. It glowed a deep shade of blue as he brought it close to the other piece. The shard leapt from his hand, merged into one and sank inside Zezuri.

A faint heartbeat started up in the brown haired girl. Grimmjow waited for her to open her eyes, but nothing more happened; Zezuri needed all of the shards now.

Aizen was slowing down, now at 50 power. Airi still fought like a berserker, but the three captains were also tiring. Airi swung her sword at Aizen over and over again, but Aizen dodged them with little effort. However, keeping track of himself and the shard was hard to do at the same time, in a second Renji managed to grab another shard. He'd just regained consciousness to find the battle fiercer than it had been.

He tossed the shard to Grimmjow, "Anything yet?!" Renji asked. Grimmjow phased the shard into Zezuri.

"Not yet! We need the last one!"

After what seemed like an eternity of fighting, Airi knocked the last shard from Aizen's hand and Renji managed to catch it in mid air. While the captains surrounded the now powerless Aizen, Airi passed out. Her inner hollow's ignorance of the damage her body had taken was now apparent; she'd lost too much blood to continue.

Renji rushed over and phased the last shard into Zezuri.

Time stood still, it seemed, as they waited.

* * *

Oooh! SUSPENSE!! THE SUSPENSE!! Okay... I'll stop... Thanks for reading, as usual! Next time is the final chapter, and it's a long one!


	40. The End, For Now

**Bleached: Ep. 40**

**-FINAL CHAPTER-**

_Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach. Just Airi and Zezuri._

_Note: Yep. This is the end. You may cry at the end if you want to. There might be a sqeul, but... we don't know... -Airi_

* * *

"Uhh…" Zezuri's eyes fluttered open.

"Zezuri…" Grimmjow managed to slightly smile. Zezuri also began to smile but it quickly faded as Grimmjow suddenly collapsed.

"Grimmjow!?" Zezuri sat up and noticed his wound.

"That doesn't look good…" Renji said worried.

Tears welled up in Zezuri's eyes. "W-wake up!" Zezuri shook Grimmjow a little, but the espada was silent. She stared to heal him, but she found it hard to concentrate. "P-please… wake up… don't die…" she pleaded.

Unohana was about to make her way over until Zezuri emitted a huge flash of light. The light stunned everyone, so much that they all paused to look for a moment. Grimmjow was back to his normal form, fully healed, but Zezuri didn't notice because she was too busy crying.

"Geez… why do you cry all the time?" Grimmjow said, sitting up. Zezuri quickly whirled around and stared at him shocked.

--

Aizen scowled, not wanting to admit defeat. He quickly opened a portal to Heuco Mundo, but when the captains tried to strike him he placed a barrier around himself and disappeared.

--

"Guess that's our cue," Gin grinned as he also disappeared into a portal.

"Gin!" Rangiku exclaimed but he was already gone.

--

As the others escaped, Ulquiorra was among the last "Trash…" was all he had to say before disappearing.

Once Shinji was once again sure he was gone, he flash-stepped over to Airi. She remained motionless. Inside her mind Airi was attempting to regain control, but losing hope. Shinji picked her up and looked around nervously; it had been over a century since he'd been here and wasn't sure how the other captains would react to his presence. Currently no one paid any attention to the Vizard holding the arrancar; her old form still held dominance. "Airi?" he asked.

No response.

--

While the shinigami rushed around removing the injured from the rubble, Renji looked at Zezuri and Grimmjow and knew he was out of luck as usual.

--

Zezuri looked over at Airi's unconscious form in an unfamiliar person's arms. "Airi!" she yelled rushing over and casting a healing spell at the same time, Grimmjow right behind her.  
"What's wrong with her?" asked Zezuri after Airi's wounds healed and she didn't wake up.

"Her inner hollow has control," stated Shinji clearly worried.

"Hirado?" Unohana walked up behind them.

Shinji jumped and prepared to fight with what power he had left.

"I'm not going to fight you, I have no reason for that. Right now, that girl, Airi was it? She needs some place better to rest, it looks to me like she's suffering from exhaustion."

Shinji nodded and followed Retsu to fourth division. Zezuri and Grimmjow followed behind, but Grimmjow wasn't carrying Zezuri; the power of the razdemerdetemps had woken more of her shinigami powers and now she was flash stepping on her own.

--

Upon reaching fourth division, Unohana lead the group to the room Airi had been in previously.

Shinji carefully set Airi on the bed and fixed her hair a bit. "Airi, come back to me," whispered Shinji in her ear.

Nothing.

"She's losing…" Grimmjow looked at his former comrade wondering how she could even resist the hollow side.

"Inner hollow?" asked Zezuri recalling the many times her friend had seemed… different, like she was slipping away into a dark abyss. "May I try something?" asked Zezuri suddenly.

"What?"

"I-I'm not sure if it'll work, but I think I've discovered a kido that could fix this."

Shinji stepped back from the bed, letting go of the hand he'd been holding.

A faint green glow came from Zezuri's hands as she spread them apart over Airi. The arrancar's mask began to glow and soon began to seemingly melt into her as the glow intensified. Zezuri almost fell over from the large amount of power she had used. Grimmjow caught her before the floor did.

"Airi?" asked Shinji, once more.

This time Airi's eyes slowly opened. "S-Shinji!" she exclaimed.

"I thought you were lost to your hollow!" he hugged her on the spot.

"Gah!" Airi hadn't expected that, "How did I get back here? Last I remember I was watching myself fight Aizen."

"We brought you here and your friend repressed your hollow with some kido I've never seen before," explained Shinji after letting go.

She smiled at Zezuri, "I guess you kept your promise after all!" They both laughed for a moment. "So, what happened to Aizen? Did we get him?" asked the blonde girl.

"Sosuke got away, I'm afraid," admitted Shinji, "as did the rest of his army."

Airi wanted to ask Shinji about his past here, but decided this wasn't the time. "And Ulquiorra?"

"The dragon espada? He left, but not before I gave him a good beating."

The fourth taicho entered the room again. She stood staring at Airi, "H-how? In all my years of captaincy I've never even heard of a spell that can revert an arrancar."

"She's not back to being a human," admitted Zezrui, "I just pushed her hollow back into a spot where she has control."

"In other words, she's a Vizard," Shinji stated, once again on edge, but nothing, not even the slightest sign of acknowledgement as to his status came from the captain as she checked Airi's condition.

"I would do my best to avoid breaking that shoulder again."

Airi nodded.

"Even kido has limits."

Again she nodded.

Shinji cast one last questioning look at Unohana, as if expecting her to place him under arrest. However Retsu walked off to her other patients without the slightest thought of the former fifth captain's reappearance. The Vizards exchanged glances and Airi nodded. She began to get off the bed.

"W-wait! Airi? You're leaving?" Zezuri asked.

Airi gave a sad smile, "Shinji and I don't belong here; too many painful memories for the both of us."

"But-"

"You can visit, Grimmjow knows where we'll be," Shinji stated, "Though Hiyori will kill me for sure when she realizes that so does Ulquiorra," he added under his breath. Airi was about to get to her feet when, "No, I'm going to carry you!" Shinji's dorky smile was back on his face.

"But, I can walk! I'm fine!"

"I know you can," he picked her up despite her initial protest, "I want to."

Airi stopped struggling as her face turned red. "This is… embarrassing…" she muttered.

Shinji beamed, "You're enjoying it, admit it, Airi."

She turned a darker shade of red.

Zezuri couldn't withstand d the laughter she'd been holding back and let it out.

Grimmjow looked at her with concern, worried about the girl's hysterical spasm of laughter that was echoing in the hallway.

"Well at least now… you can be happy…" Zezuri's laughter turned into tears.

"Well… we'll see you around," Shinji and Airi left.

--

Grimmjow was going to comfort Zezuri until he sensed a presence behind them.

"Zezuri…" Zezuri jumped at her name.

"R-Renji?" Zezuri tried to wipe away her tears.

"I—uh, I thought you were leaving so I came to see you off," he said blushing.

"Well.. I don't know where we'll be going."

"We'll?"

"Well.. Grimmjow can't stay here, he's still your enemy and we can't go back to Hueco Mundo… and the human world-" Zezuri was interrupted but her sentence finished.

"…Is out of the question," Captain Yamamoto stated, entering the room.

"H-head captain!" Renji bowed quickly.

"It is out of the question for you to stay anywhere with that creature."

"B-but where can we go?" Zezuri was on the verge of tears again as Grimmjow looked at the ground feeling depressed that it was his fault she wouldn't have a happy ending.

"H-head captain, they fought for us, surly there must be something…" Renji tried to say something.

Yamamoto gazed at the sobbing girl. "Very well… we can arrange a place for you both inside the seireitei… but he will be watched carefully until we are sure he can be trusted."

Zezuri shook her head. It was just like Hueco Mundo, but she could live like this, among the people she loved and the people who loved her.

"However," the head captain stated, "I request that in return that Zezuri joins the court guards," he gave a gentle smile, "I've had request form quite a few captains for you to join theirs."

Zezuri thought about it for a few moments, "I can visit my friend in the human world, right?"

"Yes, you get two vacation days month."

Grimmjow looked at Zezuri, wondering what would happen to them if she didn't accept these terms.

She glanced up at him with a smile and turned to Yamamoto, "Okay, deal!"

--

It was now evening; Zezuri and Grimmjow were in a small house complex outside first division where they would be staying until Zezuri chose a division to enter.

"Here's a few spare outfits," Unohana had found a few extra outfits lying around her division and brought them over to Zezuri's house.

"Thanks, Unohana-taicho!" said Zezuri as she took them from the captain.

"I've got to get back to my division. Sorry, I'd love to stay and help you move in," the captain apologized before leaving.

Zezuri set the clothes in the lone dresser in the house. Soul society never had more furniture than was absolutely necessary; too much chaos caused many things to be repeatedly destroyed.

After finishing putting things in order Grimmjow and Zezuri sat on the porch that overlooked their small yard. Fireflies glowed and hovered about softly in the might air.

Grimmjow sat staring at the bugs, never really haven taken time to look at such small things before. The slightly eerie, yet calming greenish light emitted by the creatures suddenly reminded him of something. He didn't realize what it was he was thinking of until his fingers reached something in his picket. Slowly withdrawing his hand, the arrancar withdrew Zezuri's green plastic hair clip. Without a word, he took her hand and placed it in it.

"My hairclip!" Zezuri was amazed, "I didn't realize I'd lost it!" Zezuri removed the silver butterfly clip, and put in the green one. She got up and put the silver clip on the dresser, came back and gave Grimmjow a big hug. "Thanks!" she said.

They continued to watch the fireflies together until Grimmjow noticed Zezuri had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Gently picking her up he carried her to her bed. He carefully set her down and walked out of the room. He knew this fight wasn't over and now was a calm before the next storm. The only question was, how long? He knew, however, when the time did come he would be by Zezuri's side no matter what. The thought of Zezuri made him turn and look at her. She was where he had left her, on her bed, fast asleep. Before he knew what he was doing, Grimmjow walked over and sat in the doorway. "Old habits die hard, I guess," before falling asleep himself.

--

It was now August 3rd; Zezuri finally had managed to find a day that worked for vacation. She felt quite needed by her squad and found it hard to get away from work. Just a few weeks after moving in she'd joined fifth squad, much to Momo's pleasure.

"This way," said Grimmjow, pointing down Karakura's main road. Both were dressed like regular humans and had borrowed gigai for the trip. "That's it," Grimmjow pointed to the large warehouse. They passed through the barrier without a problem.

"H-hello?" Zezuri called out.

"Ah! Zezuri! And Grimmjow! Hello again, Ichigo mentioned you were planning a visit," Shinji greeted the two visitors, "Airi went shopping with Hiyori, Lisa, and Mashiro, they'll be back in-"

"We're back!" yelled Mashiro from the doorway.

"Zezuri!" called Airi, noticing her friend.

"You came on a good day," remarked Love to Zezuri as he took the groceries from Mashiro and Lisa.

Zezuri smiled, "I know, it's Airi's birthday!" She rushed over to Airi and gave her a quick hug, "Happy 19th!"

Airi smiled, "Just don't tell my classmates," she said and laughed, "They somehow think I'm 15."

"Hey!" called Shinji, "They'd all die of shock if they learned how old I am!" he walked over and took some bags of groceries from Airi, "Age doesn't matter all that much among our kind though, so don't let it bug you." He walked over to the staircase, "Well…? Are we having a party or not?" he called. Hiyori threw her sandal at him and everyone laughed as it fell down the stairs and she had to go after it. All the Vizards, along with Zezuri and Grimmjow followed Shinji down to the basement.

* * *

FIN!! YAY!! Okay, maybe not if you wanted this to continue... Well... it will! Hopefully! I might just be writing it myself. My sister has also offered her skills... so we'll see what happens... SEE YOU LATER! -Airi


End file.
